The Interior (See)
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| The Interior | |
| Author | Lisa See |
|---|---|
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Publication date | 1999 |
| Preceded by | Flower Net |
| Followed by | Dragon Bones |
The Interior is the title of Lisa See's second novel in the Red Princess series. The first novel is Flower Net and the third is Dragon Bones. In The Interior Chinese security inspector [1] Liu Hulan and David Stark, an American attorney who loves her and is the father of her unborn child, try to find out why Miaoshan, the daughter of Hulan's old friend Suchee, hanged herself.
The setting is 1997 China -- "post- Deng Xiaoping", a period characterized by "an unholy alliance between post-Deng Communism ('market socialism') [2] and American capitalism" [3], the China of Jiang Zemin. In the novel the narrator speaks about the times in more personal terms: "As the saying went, the blade of grass points where the wind blows. The only problem was that the wind was blowing in so many directions these days no one could completely protect himself" [4].
The plot centers on the conniving of both Chinese and American businessmen to exploit China for profit and power. See describes in great detail the dangers women face because they work in an American toy factory, located in a remote part of the interior of China, that lacks adequate safety protections.[5] Miaoshan was working at the toy factory before her death. Elisabeth Sherwin quotes Lisa See speaking about the role of Chinese working women from a somewhat different perspective: "The women making $24 a month in those factories are changing the face of China," said See. "They are making enough money to open up small stores in their home villages. These women are working at a free market economy and are providing an economic value they never had before." She says the year 1997 was an important year in China because it marked a growth in the birth rate of Chinese girls, an event that would not have occurred unless females were seen as providing an economic value"[6].
The novel begins with Hulan's friend Suchee and the hanging death of Miaoshan, her daughter. It ends with the solution to the mystery of Miaoshan's death and with her mother Suchee working in the fields, unable to forget her [7].
[edit] Notes
- ^ Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China
- ^ Socialism with Chinese characteristics
- ^ Jon Garelick, "Toys 'R' Murder", New York Times, 09/17/1999.
- ^ Lisa See, The Interior, p. 16. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008
- ^ See, pp. 146-147
- ^ Elisabeth Sherwin, "See The Interior through the eyes of someone who's been there", 11/14/1999
- ^ See, pp. 387-388
[edit] References
See, Lisa. The Interior. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008.
