When most people think about Taiwan (formerly Formosa) nowadays, they likely think of the conflict between them and China and the constant threat of attack. Yet this book, which has been translated from Chinese into English, gives us a broader perspective. It is historical fiction and based closely on the real-life events. Much is seen of the fearsome aborigines of 1867, whom in many ways had gotten a bad rap and who inhabited a large swathe of the island, especially the mountain areas.
Their woe was when one group, the Koalut tribe massacred survivors of the American ship, the Rover, in mistaken retaliation of Red-Hairs who'd killed many of their people years ago. This got American, British and the Qing goverment involved. It tells also of the Hokkien and Hakka people who'd come over from the China mainland, and took up more territory, encroaching on tribal land, adding further aggravation.
What initially sparked my interest in this book was the title, Puppet Flower - a nickname for Butterfly, the daughter of a Hakka man and a "raw savage" mother, who'd hailed from the Puppet Mountains. She had a brother Bunkiet who was also a major story character along with Tauketok, Pickering, General Charles LeGendre, and General Liu, who represented the Qing government. These all figured in the balance of 'to war or not to war' due to the Rover incident.
In later years, Taiwan was taken over by the Japanese, adding a whole new kettle of fish.
Some places of the book dragged a bit, however, I was mostly kept interested all along the way. Was somewhat disappointed with the ending as it became more about Le Gendre and less about Butterfly, the Puppet Flower. All in all, it was a statisfying read and I learned more about Taiwan and it's strategic position in the world.
~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~
October 2022
Disclaimer: This my honest opinion based on the complimentary copy sent by NetGalley and the Publisher.
Read review on Goodreads.
No comments:
Post a Comment