The China Lover: A Novel

Everything that drops from Ian Buruma's pen is worth reading, and his second novel, The China Lover, is no exception. It is surprising that no one has thought, until now, to base a historical novel on the life of that chameleon-like actress Yoshiko (aka Shirley) Yamaguchi. Buruma does so with aplomb, giving us a taut narrative that provides all the satisfactions of a page turner, but at the same time is a nuanced look at Japanese and world history—as well as history through the Japanese eyes of Yamaguchi and others—from pre-war Manchuria to late twentieth century Beirut. (Peripheral note 1: a character at the center of the novel is based quite closely on a friend of mine. That made for an interesting reading experience. Peripheral note 2: Buruma's first novel, Playing the Game, is, I think, a minor classic. If you stumble across a copy don't hesitate to dive into it.)