China Mountain Zhang in Beyond Reality

Oct 17, 2021 MadProfessah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021-read

I have been hearing about China Mountain Zhang on Goodreads for so long that I finally decided to break down and read it. China Mountain Zhang is famous for being the debut novel of Maureen McHugh that was nominated for many of the most prestigious awards in speculative fiction: the 1992 Hugo Award, the 1993 Nebula award, the Locus Award for Best First Novel (1993), the James Tiptree, Jr. Award(1993), and the Lambda Literary Award (1993).

China Mountain Zhang is also well-known for its unusual st I have been hearing about China Mountain Zhang on Goodreads for so long that I finally decided to break down and read it. China Mountain Zhang is famous for being the debut novel of Maureen McHugh that was nominated for many of the most prestigious awards in speculative fiction: the 1992 Hugo Award, the 1993 Nebula award, the Locus Award for Best First Novel (1993), the James Tiptree, Jr. Award(1993), and the Lambda Literary Award (1993).

China Mountain Zhang is also well-known for its unusual structure: it is a mosaic novel, i.e. a collection of intertwined stories, all set in a 22nd century United States (and world) dominated by China, and featuring a character named Zhang Zhong Shan, which contains two of the most famous names in the Chinese language, akin to being called George Washington Jones. It so happens that Zhang, the title character, is a guy with multiple secrets. He’s a closeted gay man in a culture rife with state-sanctioned deadly homophobia. Even though he appears to be an ABC (American-Born Chinese), in actuality he has a Latino father, his mother named him Rafael and (illegally ) provided him with spliced genes that give him his Asian appearance that aligns with his public identity as Zhang.

The reader learns about the world of the twenty-second century through cleverly curated details provided in the stories. For example, we know that the United States is no longer a capitalist democracy because Zhang has to go to a special government office to obtain a new job when he loses (or leaves) the first job we see him have in and early chapter. (This indicates that even in New York City there appears to be a planned economy.)

Eventually Zhang goes to spend a difficult 18 months near the North Pole in order to get credit that he can use to finance education in China that will provide him with engineering and architectural credentials that will allow him much more job flexibility and earning potential in the future. (There are multiple references to communism and Mao Zedong but individual ownership of property does not seem to be outlawed, although collectives appear to be popular and socially favored.) In my opinion, Zhang is the most important (and frequently appearing) character in the book and his are the best sections; it makes sense he’s the title character.

Overall, although I’m glad that I have finally read China Mountain Zhang, I was not really that impressed with it. Having an openly gay character in 1992 is definitely ahead of its time, but being unable to realize that societal homophobia (even in a world dominated by Chinese culture) might have abated was not a possible future the author envisioned. So my overall takeaway from the book is that it produces a vision of a downbeat, if not dystopian, future. Of course, not all books need to be upbeat but my hope is that in most books I read the story will be engrossing or engaging to the reader in multiple ways, either in wanting to know how the story ends (here since the book is a mosaic there is no “plot” per se, so this is not a factor) or depicting characters or the setting in a way that cause a visceral connection with the reader (neither really worked for me here although I was curious about how exactly China came to dominate the United States but that story is not fully given). So in the end I view China Mountain Zhang as a creative but not compelling read; it’s suitable for sci-fi completists but probably not for casual aficionados of the genre. ...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Maggie K rated it it was amazing

Shelves: tiptree-award

China Mountain Zhang is such a great example of showing place through the day to day lives of its characters that it almost seems like a book about nothing....not except a futuristic earth (and a Mars colony) so alive in its humanity it shine! Really, really quite thought provoking.

Rafael "China Mountain" Zhang is the loose knot tying the characters stories together, hi POV sandwiching those of his Chinese boss' daughter, 2 Martian colonists, and a kite-flyer; each of whose perspective adds anot ...more

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Nov 19, 2018 Tomislav rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, 5-stars, read-2-times, sff-2018-read-all-the-books

second read – 4 December 2018 - *****
Maureen McHugh is an American science fiction writer whose four novels and other works were published mostly in the 1990s. China Mountain Zhang was her debut novel, and while it was nominated for both Hugo and Nebula, it did not win either. However, it did win the 1992 Tiptree Award, the Locus Award for first novel, and the Lambda Award. I first read it when it was relatively new, and went on to read McHugh’s three other novels as well. This re-read was promp second read – 4 December 2018 - *****
Maureen McHugh is an American science fiction writer whose four novels and other works were published mostly in the 1990s. China Mountain Zhang was her debut novel, and while it was nominated for both Hugo and Nebula, it did not win either. However, it did win the 1992 Tiptree Award, the Locus Award for first novel, and the Lambda Award. I first read it when it was relatively new, and went on to read McHugh’s three other novels as well. This re-read was prompted by the novel having been selected as book of the month by Goodread’s SciFi and Fantasy Book Club.

The novel is structured as a loosely connected set of novelettes and novellas, told sequentially, but from several different perspectives. 1) Zhang himself is a young man in a future America which has come to be dominated by communist China. Zhang is half-ABC (American born Chinese) and half Hispanic, but his parents invested in having his genes tweaked so that he appeared fully Chinese – which is a social advantage in New York and throughout the world. Zhang (also known as Rafael) is gay in a world where homosexuality is forbidden. 2) Angel is a kite flyer, a lightweight athletic woman who flies competitively in the skies over New York, while allowing fans to purchase the live sensory experience – a very dangerous occupation, but with the remote possibility of fame and glory. The media presumes her to be in a romantic relationship with another flyer named Cinnabar. 3) Martine is a settler on Mars, eking out a good life in a backwater commune through hard work. Alexi is also on Mars, but has only recently been sent there with his daughter after a series of patriotic economic failures on Earth. 4) San-Xiang is the daughter of China-born parents who have slipped down the prestige ladder and now live outside China in New York. She was born with an unacceptably ugly face, lives at home, and has been raised with low self-esteem and self-expectations.

Of these stories, Zhang’s is the primary one, and McHugh returns to him in alternating chapter. All of the perspective characters touch on each other’s lives briefly during episodes in which they do not fully see each other. That is an effect that I thoroughly enjoy, having seen something similar in Andreas Eschbach’s Die Haarteppichknüpfer. In this way, we gradually learn of this future world that McHugh has created. There was the cultural revolution known as Great Cleansing Winds a few years ago; there is the secret world inhabited by gay men in this speculative New York and in China; there is the blending of communist Chinese culture into all others. Along the way, we get glimpses of some of the medical and technological advances that have taken place. It is this organic and detailed world-building that I have appreciated throughout McHugh’s work, including in this one.

first read - 2 June 1997 - ***** Maureen McHugh's debut novel, and my first read of her. I was very impressed. I read it while laid up with a broken ankle, and finished it in a one day reading marathon. ...more

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Nov 03, 2013 Aster rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library-books, science-fiction, dystopia

This is not a book about grand adventures, great joys, or deep sorrows. It is not about finding oneself or the meaning of life. It is simply about life, as it is. At times it was almost as if I could have been reading about my own life, although I am not a gay man and I have never been to New York, much less China or Mars. Still, when I closed the book I felt like it was the end of a chapter of my life and that it was up to me to write the next page.

The future that McHugh has created is elegant ...more

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