The Last Communist Virgin

by Wang Ping

“Wang Ping’s The Last Communist Virgin is a beauty of a collection. She has interwoven the earthiness of China and the harshness of immigrant life . . . to create a series of short stories that are at once pitiful, heartbreaking, funny, and deeply inspiring.”—Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan From the restaurants of New York’s Chinatown to the retail emporium of Bergdorf Goodman, and from remote Chinese military outposts to the streets of Beijing, the tremors of China’s rapid economic and cultural growth can be felt. As the characters in these stories struggle to find their way, a young girl discovers love amidst a sea of angry Red Guards, émigrés navigate New York’s relentless rat race, an ambitious businesswoman finds the meaning of success in her rival, and an old man returns to a Beijing he doesn’t recognize on a mission to restore his son-in-law’s flagging honor. Moving smoothly across political, cultural, and personal borders and between countries, continents, and languages, these stories open a window into the rapid transformations of an ancient culture and the soul’s thirst for adventure and harmony in a quickly changing world. Wang Ping was born in Shanghai and grew up on a small island in the East China Sea. After three years spent farming in a mountain village commune, she attended Beijing University. In 1985 she left China to study in the United States, earning her PhD from New York University. She is the acclaimed author of the short story collection American Visa, the novel Foreign Devil, two poetry Of Flesh & Spirit and The Magic Whip, and the cultural study Aching for Footbinding in China. She now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and teaches at Macalester College. Visit her website at www.wangping.com.

Genres: Fiction, China, Book Club, Short Stories

218 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Born in Shanghai and grew up in the East China Sea. Love the body of water, its sound and smell, love the touch of the muddy beach and golden sand.

Reviews

[Charles Degelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poet and educator Wang Ping spent her childhood in the Chinese Cultural Revolution before leaving for England and America. In The Last Communist Virgin, a series of novellas, Wang brings the inheritance her far-off origins to a wildly varying assortment of time and place. She drifts above and within the hearts, minds, spirits and bodies of a panoply of characters like a compassionate ghost. She can be stark and sharp-edged in her photojournalistic descriptions of times, places, people and events (“Where the Poppies Blow,” “The Homecoming of an Old Beijing Man”).

In other stories, Wang’s shape-shifting ghost morphs into her characters and becomes them, taking on the hopes, fears, intimacies, naiveté and denials, the tricks that allow them to survive their circumstances in China, America or in transit (“The Last Communist Virgin,” “Forage”).

With each tale, Wang’s language is at once clear and seductive, shifting from sharp focus to myopia as she ushers the reader on journalistic and dreamlike voyages rich with stark particulars, sumptuous and sensual recollections, and the deepest imaginings of its characters.

[melinape · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
-me gustó mucho que a lo largo del libro la autora va trayendo hechos históricos de manera entrelazada con la vida de los personajes, sentí que aprendí de historia china leyendolo, historia de la que sabía muy poco
-al principio quería todo el tiempo encontrar la continuidad de los personajes en los distintos relatos, cuando me relajé en ese sentido lo disfruté más
-el primer cuento me pareció espectacular, el último me costó horrores terminarlo


"Las dos flores habían desaparecido. Las hojas se habían marchitado en los tallos y los pétalos estaban esparcidos alrededor de las raíces. En la parte superior, había dos cabezas en forma de bulbo, repletas, preñadas de semillas. Me recordaron a Melón. Parecía que una de las cápsulas había sido raspada por una bala perdida. El líquido blanco había llenado la cicatriz y colgaba como una lágrima seca. Comenzó a soplar el viento. Los bulbos temblaban como si estuvieran llorando, como si todo el planeta estuviera llorando. De repente, se me llenaron los ojos de lágrimas. Levanté la mirada hacia el cielo, el mismo vacío, el mismo silencio. Nada parecía haber cambiado, pero yo ya no era la misma". p. 43

[Gabriela Nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermosa serie de cuentos. El que da título al libro ya tiene que estar en proceso de convertirse en un proyecto audiovisual, película o serie, porque así es como se deja leer.
Aún siendo bastante ignorante acerca de la historia político-social de China, pude disfrutar muchísimo esta obra. Me hubiera gustado algunas páginas de prólogo con algún tipo de referencia a los momentos históricos que se mencionan en el texto, aunque probablemente intentar contextualizar exitosamente sería muy difícil de todas formas. Una joya.

[Ana Banana • 아나바나나 · Rating 3 out of 5]

La selección de cuentos es bastante interesante, se nota que están pensandos para estar interconectados de alguna manera.
Los contrastes entre la China de Mao y el EEUU capitalista con sus joyas y lujos, ambos escenarios de personajes de orígenes diversos pero siempre pobres, personajes que buscan sobrevivir al ambiente que les tocó.

[Camila Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amé todas y cada una de estas novelas, que están interconectadas entre sí. La autora, que vivió en China durante la Revolución Cultural, puede describir a la perfección "el mundo comunista y el mundo capitalista" y sus intereses. Excelentes historias de migrantes en EE.UU.

[Fallon Chiasson · Rating 4 out of 5]

great collection

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about and experiencing the Chinese culture. Much of the writing was beautiful, however I found some of the storylines and characters disturbing.

[Teresa West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories that weave magical eastern elements and beautiful turns of phrases into tales that transport you in the opposite direction of Hollywood endings. Wow.

[Daiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Fe]

El cuento que le da nombre al libro es increíble

[Shannongibney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was familiar with some of Wang Ping's poetry, but I had never read her fiction, so this was quite an interesting read. Here in Minnesota is she a prolific and inspiring presence -- criss-crossing genres all the time, telling all kinds of stories that would otherwise not be told.

Although I didn't feel every story was necessarily successful, I enjoyed the collection overall. The last story, "Maverick," was my favorite by far -- anyone interested in the spiritual cost of destroying the Earth should read this one. The language and cosmology are absolutely breathtaking, and leave you changed.

I am grappling with the normalizing affect of sexism that I feel much Chinese and Chinese American fiction I have enountered lately propogate, however. I started SOUL MOUNTAIN two years ago, and found the language absolutely beautiful, but couldn't finish it because of the disturbing portrayals of male/female relations. Of course, it is the author's job to portray human relationships -- no matter how unpalatable they may be -- but what of narrative distance? What of a governing consciousness that offers something in the way of critique of these unequal power relations?

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of her stories are fairly dark, intense explorations of the hardships people endure in the slums of China and as new immigrants to America. The glimpses the reader gets of life in China during the Cultural Revolution are fascinating, full of small details like what apartments smell like. The title story is associated with most of the others through the lives of various characters, initially immigrants from China to New York City, some of whom ultimately return to Shanghai to try to rediscover their homeland and maintain the financial and social success they have found in the U.S. The last story is an odd mix of historical events (Three Rivers Gorge dam is about to start operation) and fantasy/mythology (woman turned sturgeon turned river goddess). I enjoy magical realism and fantasy, and Wang Ping is usually an excellent writer, but I'm not sure the last story entirely works. It's more postmodern than I tend to care for, so it may just be my personal bias. But its disjointedness was distracting.

[Katie B-K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the last short story, "Maverick," for the December 2014 Macalester Alumni book club and intensely enjoyed the discussion. Read the rest at different points before and after the book club. The book is one of those things that I know while reading that it is well written, interesting, and good literature, but it just isn't my thing. Partially because I'm not really a short story person, partially because I have a hard time connecting with the characters, partially because of the disjointed story telling. But I definitely felt like I learned something.

Macalester Alumni Book Club December 2014.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely and interesting collection of stories about people living in China and New York after the Cultural Revolution. I thought the author did a swell job of creating complex characters and weaving them throughout the various stories. Their fears and desires were vastly diverse and gave an uninitiated rube like me a great glimpse into the joys and difficulties of China's transition away from Maoism. I would suggest it to anyone who likes realistic fiction and deep, thought-provoking characters.

[Celeste · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many characters and the transition between characters was not well done. I ended up not really caring about what happened to each character. Also the only thing they all had in common was that they either currently lived in China or came to the U.S. from China. I would rather have had a story about one family rather than all these that were not related to eachother.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of short stories (many are related so it reads more like a novel) about growing up in Communist China and dealing with the US as a Chinese immigrant. I really liked the characters and the interrelatedness of many of the stories.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this collection of stories based around the experiences of characters in China and in the U.S. I thought most of the stories were beautifully written and intricate, but others fell into romantic cliche or literary device, which made them less effective.

[Laurel Deloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficulties of the immigrant life with the difficulties of life in changing China.
She has interwoven the earthiness of China and the harshness of immigrant life . . . to create a series of short stories that are at once pitiful, heartbreaking, funny, and deeply inspiring

[Vic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book moved like few others. There is a scene where I yelled and threw the book across the room because I was powerless to reach inside and assist the main character. As a writer, THIS is the power I want,

[Bryan Worra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting things at play here. Wang Ping takes some more imaginative turns with some forays into magical realism. If you like Wang Ping's work, you should check this one out.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

China is still fighting a sort of cultural revolution and Chinese immigrants have many problems in America.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was complicated. But I liked it. The stories all connect- some are really obvious, some aren't. The last one was easily my favorite.

[Sue Mellgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection of stories of Chinese life and also of the lives of Chinese immigrants in America. Not all the stories were great reads but all were interesting.

[R.]

I did not enjoyed it. To many ghosts and allegories.