ANN LIANG A Song to Drown Rivers. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley

Ann Liang’s first novel for adults reimagines an ancient Chinese tale of deception and betrayal – and the life of a legendary beauty.

Based on the story of one of the Four Beauties of ancient China, Liang’s novel is a gripping tale about love, war, sacrifice and betrayal. While the basic outline of the plot is taken from history and myth, Xishi’s story is told in an entirely new way and this intriguing character is given her own unique and captivating voice.

All her life, Xishi’s beauty has set her apart; her mother always told her to don a veil before leaving the house as a safety precaution in a war-torn kingdom. When a stranger from the royal court of Yue visits Xishi’s poor village, she is offered an opportunity to serve her country and to get revenge for the death of her younger sister at the hands of Wu soldiers. Trained in secret to become a palace lady, Xishi has to perfect skills in etiquette, music, literature, dance – oh, and, of course, lying. Given to King Fuchai of Wu as an offering, Xishi’s mission is to make him so obsessed with her that she can distract him from his kingdom’s affairs, encourage him to waste his money, collect vital intelligence and thus gradually weaken Wu’s government from within.

Despite her fear, Xishi is determined to enable victory for her people after the years of subjugation. Her beauty, however, is a double-edged sword and nothing can possibly prepare her for the sacrifices she will need to make to achieve her goal.

This book is beautifully written and poetic. The story is told from Xishi’s perspective and her growth as a character remains very engaging throughout:

The crude simplicity of my own words surprised me. In the palace, I had grown accustomed to polishing them into something unrecognisable, alluding to the moon’s reflection in the water when I meant the moon itself.

There is endless enjoyment to be had from Xishi’s delightfully practical outlook on life. Even as she becomes the perfect palace lady, her rural village upbringing still shines through her thoughts in the best way:

There seemed no end to the number of rules that came with a single meal. Eating was no longer just a means of nourishing the body, of appeasing the empty stomach and ensuring one had the energy to work another day, but a highly complex ritual. It was considered a great offense to have the head of a fish dish turned toward the king; an offense to make audible noises while chewing in the king’s presence. It seemed to me that the problem lay more with the king; who else would have the energy to be offended by nearly everything? Of course, I kept these thoughts to myself.

Much of the focus of the story, perhaps unsurprisingly, is on the limits that gender roles and ideas of beauty impose on women, but some of the ways that ideas of strength can limit men are in there too:

‘Is somebody bothering you? Who? I’ll kill them.’

I shook my head. He had expressed such sentiments before and I’d always taken them as proof of his brutality, his ruthless nature … But now it hit me with astounding clarity that it was the most he could do, the most he considered himself capable of. Like how a cook, when something goes wrong, might busy himself making delicious meals; or how a physician, during a disaster, might offer medical advice.

The most tragic thing, to me at least, was actually how Xishi is forced to cling to her hatred of everyone from Wu in order to see her plan through. It’s much simpler for her to see all of those people, even the civilians, as something less than human. This book definitely has a lot to say about that.

A Song to Drown Rivers is certainly worth a read and is very easy to binge. It’s full of unique, three-dimensional characters (not just Xishi) and it’s a wonderful, as well as believable, new take on an old story.

Ann Liang A Song to Drown Rivers Macmillan 2024 PB 336pp $34.99

Amelia Dudley has degrees in plant biology. But despite spending a lot of time in the garden, her plants still occasionally die.

You can buy A Song to Drown Rivers from Abbey’s at a 10% discount by quoting the promotion code NEWTOWNREVIEW.

You can also check if it is available from Newtown Library.

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Tags: Ann | Liang, Chinese legends, The Four Beauties, Xishi