Genre
Historical Fiction
Setting and Context
The novel is told during the 1960s and 1970s in Beijing, China during the Cultural Revolution.
Narrator and Point of View
The novel is told from the first-person perspective of a young woman named Mei.
Tone and Mood
The novel is serious, judgemental, violent, intense, romantic, and historical.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Mei is the protagonist; Mei is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel revolves around Mei's internal struggle to reconcile her role in Mao's cultural revolution, which is wreaking havoc on the lives of people across the world.
Climax
When Mei completes the political mission that Mao gave her.
Foreshadowing
The death caused by Mao's cultural revolution is foreshadowed by the start of the novel.
Understatement
Mao's sheer evil is understated quite early (and often) in the novel.
Allusions
There are many allusions to the history, geography, culture, and economic systems of China, Chinese religions (like Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism), to the mythology of Ancient China, Greece, Rome, and Egypt, and other religion more generally.
Imagery
As the Cultural Revolution swings into full force, violent and intense and suffering imagery becomes more and more common.
Paradox
Mao's mandate was to lead China and keep his people safe, yet he actively harmed his country and killed his people.
Parallelism
n/a
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Beijing is used to refer to the Chinese government as a whole.
Personification
The country of China itself is personified frequently in the novel.
