Author: Janie Chang
Release Date: April 2020
Genre: Historical Fiction

China 1937, when the Japanese were invading and the Communist and Nationalist parties were at odds, the students of Minghua University evacuate to the safety of the western provinces. A journey across 1,000s of miles, 19 year old Hu Lian and her classmates are entrusted with one of China’s priceless treasures: The Library of Legends, a 500-year old collection of myths that are more real than most realized.

The Library of Legends in Janie Chang’s novel is based on the Siku Quanshu, or Complete Library of Four Branches of Literature. While the name may be less than creative, it is one of China’s real national treasures. Commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor, it was a massive encyclopedia containing 800 million words bound into 36,000 books. The name suggests it was the complete collection of China’s literature, and includes texts on philosophy, history, literature and more. Visit her site for more pictures.

Throughout Lian’s trek across the countryside of China, Chang introduces the reader to a time in history that I was only vaguely familiar with. I certainly wasn’t aware of the evacuation of university students, nor the precious books they carried with them. She also depicts the political unrest of the time. Students sneak away to left-wing communist meetings in the late hours of the night and spies for the nationalists are where you never expect. When one student is murdered and another arrested, it seems there are enemies everywhere, both Chinese and Japanese.

Lian has her two companions, Shao and the maidservant Sparrow, to accompany her during this harrowing journey. As she learns more about The Willow Star and the Prince, a tale from the Library of Legends, a connection that spans across lifetimes is revealed between her friends. This was probably my favorite part of the story. Gods and myths walking amongst the mortal realm. They were on their own journey, however, and Chang did a beautiful job illustrating their involvement and purpose.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed The Library of Legends. It was perfect for a week on the lake. And learning about this little unknown part of history (to me anyway) sparked an interest in the Chinese gods of old. Perhaps I’ll acquire a new addition to my home library soon 🙂

~Steph

Support your local book shops! Purchase The Library of Legends at Bookshop.org