Women, Seated marks Chinese writer Zhang Yueran and notable literary translator Jeremy Tiang's third collaboration, after Ten Loves and Cocoon. Within its spare page count is an engrossing, precise exposé of the fleeting uncertainty of power and privilege in modern China, and the intricate collateral damage of potential downfall.
Yu Ling's meticulously planned spring outing with her seven-year-old charge, Kuan Kuan, is actually an impressively orchestrated kidnapping attempt to access some of Kuan Kuan's parents' impressive wealth. A breaking radio news announcement en route, however, reveals the boy's grandfather is under official investigation, which has far-reaching ramifications for the extended family. Both Kuan Kuan's parents are unreachable (for ransom or otherwise), and Yu Ling has no other option but to return to the family mansion--with a goose Kuan Kuan has acquired--even as the substantial staff has already disappeared, absconding with easily transportable valuables. Yu Ling won't abandon the child as everyone else seems to have already done. Uncertain about either of their futures, Yu Ling has little choice but to live each day, caught up in Kuan Kuan's childish needs and innocent (for now) imagination. At least in the deserted estate, she can sample some of the luxury she's only witnessed.
Zhang expertly confronts relentless social, political, economic, and gender inequity issues, blending them into a dynamic domestic drama without easy answers. Extenuating circumstances reveal people's true natures--caring, greedy, responsible, exploitative. With so much in flux, Yu Ling continues to fascinate--torn between the immediate needs of the child and a possibility of her own personal freedom. --Terry Hong