Inheritance
Submitted by HELEN KIM on Sat, 2005-01-01 08:00.
An inheritance is usually a cherished asset bequeathed to a loved one after death. In Lan Samantha Chang's novel, Inheritance--can it adequately be called such, or should it be coveting? Inheritance explores the tempestuous relationships between female family members. The novel is narrated through Junan's daughter Hong, who throughout the novel, flashes from her mother's past, her own childhood, her present-day experiences and intense relationships with her own mother and sister. Left alone after their mother's suicide, Junan and her younger sister, Yinan, become the other's best friend and closest ally. Although they are as different in looks as well as personality, they grow to depend on each other.
Junan, beautiful, smart and independently strong, is arranged to marry a boy with almost nothing--a soldier in republican China. Yinan, klutzy and a bit dowdy, is difficult to marry off--she loses herself in art and poetry.
Junan falls in love with her husband Li Ang and, like a bar of soap in a wet hand, she finds herself losing control of him and herself. As Li Ang is promoted up the ranks and moves to Chonqing and faces his brother on the enemy line, Junan faces issues of her own--not being able to provide a male heir, destined to become her mother.
She finally sends Yinan, her closest confidante, to Li Ang's new residence to watch over his borderline philandering ways. But, what happens thereafter becomes the ultimate betrayal in which the sisters and everyone else in their lives are never the same again. Ultimately, it becomes clearer that heavy choices and their consequences of betrayal are the basic themes between almost every blurred relationship in Inheritance.
Chang does a lovely job in description--it is never too wordy to be melodramatic, or concise to be deemed one-dimensional. Rich in layers, and well researched, the historical context places a confidence in the novel to make the reader trust every event is reality, and help us believe the characters--with all their human flaws--remind us of someone we know and love. login to post comments
