The Last Communist Virgin

By Wang Ping

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, these stories open a window into the rapid transformations of an ancient culture. As the characters struggle to find their way, a young girl discovers love amidst a sea of angry Red Guards, eacute;migr s navigate New York's relentless rat race, and an old man returns to a Beijing he doesn't recognize on a mission to restore his son-in-law's flagging honor. In the heartrending finale, the origins of humanity and its reckless dash toward an apocalyptic future are distilled into a love story with far-reaching implications.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566891957
• ISBN13: 9781566891950
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Coffee House Press
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

A revealing look at a people adrift from millenia-old roots

This recent collection of short stories by Ping Wang is a revealing glimpse into the tumultuous current state of the Chinese people, although largely from the perspective of those who have immigrated to the USA, and occasionally featuring flashbacks to the strife-torn China of the 1960s. Most European Americans have rather one-dimensional views of Chinese immigrants, mostly seeing them as meek and polite "model immigrants" without perceiving the reality of these complex people. Ping unwraps them so we see, perhaps for the first time, their humanity, which naturally is not always flattering - there is coarseness, arrogance, duplicity, and xenophobia, but also playful rambunctiousness, sophistication, warmheartedness, a sense of honor, yearning, fears, ambition, a rich tapestry of ancient tales, and much more. Atop this is a whole additional layer because, after thousands of years of a society rooted in tradition and position, Chinese society has recently been picked up and shaken violently, and we see these people adrift, each trying in his or her way to find their bearings, a home, and happiness. Although the syntax in this slender collection of stories is at times a bit rough, this only adds to the immediacy and authenticity of the storytelling, which is wonderful. Highly recommended.