Fortress Besieged
Fortress Besieged was initially published in China in 1947 and is debatably considered one of the finest Chinese novels of last century and for good reason; it is that rare book that borders on the literary yet defines its goals without losing its readability.
The novel revolves around an extremely luckless hero, Fang Hung-chien, who maintains a striking ability to misinterpret virtually every event, conversation and opportunity that comes his way. Fang, returns from abroad after years of studying for a degree which he never managed to acquire, unless one counts the fraudulent degree bought from a non-existent American university? It is this assumption that Fang is more than he really is that leads him into constant troubling, farcical, situations. He even manages on the basis of his spurious degree to land a teaching position he is so unqualified for at a new university in China’s interior that his father takes to calling his eldest son “Muddlehead”! Toss in a complicated love life and you have a superlative Chinese erudite soap opera.
The translation is perfection, and even with the so many different characters and names, I never once became lost or confused just more enthralled with how Fang could so easily walk a crooked line down a straight street over and over again. I highly recommend Fortress Besieged, especially for those looking for a new twist in an old world way to their historical fiction.
