On the eve of the surrender of Japan and thus the end of the second World War, three man are sitting toasting in a small village deep into China. One is an American Missionary who is almost 40, the others are almost half his age. One is an American soldier sent there to train Chinese recruits, the other is one of those Chinese who became an expert marksman. They make a solemn vow: when they will die their ghost will return to the village on the anniversary of this victory and wait for the other ghosts.

Soon after one of the ghosts arrives but it takes many decades until the friends are reunited again. They realise that a forth person is missing: the girl they all loved in their own special way. (I think as a father figure, a bosom friend and a lover) They start to tell each other about their lives.

Most time is spend on the life of the young Chinese soldier thus creating the recent history of China. From the days that rural villages had only one scribe and people lacked decent shoes to a son in law who are now professors in America. That is maybe also because the book is written by someone originally from China.

It is translated from the original Chinese into English but the language still oozes foreign origins. Some sentences are real jewels

Although the part told by the dogs is sweet but it does not fit into the concept of a meeting in the 21st century as the dogs tell their ghost story in 1945.

I liked the glimpse into a for me foreign culture and a historic era. The story is divided amongst several people what makes it less easy to identify with one but I liked the Chinese soldier most. It is beautifully written and I liked the ending.

A story you will remember.

Reviewed this novel for Netgalley. It will be published 01 Oct 2020.

Wow. This book was gorgeous. I found myself fact-checking because I so truly believed it was a real story! This piece of fiction is written so eloquently and fluidly that I was all in. I felt the story and the characters as completely as possible. I look forward to reading more by Zhang Ling.

Includes spoilers!

The book centers around one woman, and the men all claim her in their own way. What I was struck with is how much she gave up for them versus what she got in return.
The writing and translation was beautiful.
The story was a bit long winded in certain bits. Sometimes it was a little confusing with story belonged to which man, but luckily there were small summaries in between with clearly guided me towards the correct man.
Now I know this might sound odd, but the section told by the two dogs was both my favorite and least favorite part of the book. I understand they had a better overview and reason to tell a part of the story from their perspective, but if we were adding in new things, I would have liked to read more from Ah Yan/Stella/Wende's perspective.
I haven't been able to verify how much of the story was historically inaccurate/accurate, but it was fascinating to learn more about the wars and how it affected everyone. Wars have no real winners, and everybody is branded with it for life.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

The premise of the book sounded great. The bones of the story were good, but there were definitely some things I didn't like about the book.

TRIGGER WARNING: bombing, gore, sexual assault, and death of pets

First and foremost, the text was overly descriptive, and and was heavily overburdened by information that was unrelated to the plot. The descriptions were so incredibly detailed that it took me off topic and made it easy for the plot to get lost. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, leading to chapters that were excessively long and kind of boring. The entire story is narrated through the point of view of various characters, including two pet dogs. The chapter with the dogs really lost me. As much as I love dogs, the story being told from their point of view involved complex humanized emotions that wasn't believable. T

he entire time I read, I waited to find out what actually happened. The story went from the future and worked backwards, with scattered periods out of order. I found myself often getting distracted, and waiting for something to happen. There was a lot of focus on the status of a woman who was sexually assaulted, and I didn't especially love how it was handled by any of the characters. When the end of the book finally arrived, the final chapter would have been sufficient, except for the presence of an epilogue that was completely unnecessary.

Overall, the book had so much potential, but maybe because it was originally written in a language other than it was translated to, it left something lacking for me.

This novel is told through the narrations of three story tellers interwoven with one another to perfection. It was a great story, very well told, from the point of view of a Japanese soldier, a gunner's mate and a pastor. They each loved and lost and their experiences link them together. The story was slow but a good one, despite the hardship that necessarily was included due to the period in which the tale was set and the atrocities that occurred during those events. I can understand why this translation was so eagerly awaited. It's a well thought out novel, one that won't be forgotten in a hurry.

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A Single Swallow by Ling Zhang (translated by Shelly Bryant) is an award-winning Chinese novel taking place during the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. Ling Zhang is an award winning author.

The story follows three men, American missionary Pastor Billy, brash gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson, and local soldier Liu Zhaohu who promised one another that they will each other, after their deaths on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender.

As each one takes a turn telling their story, they all come down to Ah Yan, or Swallow, a girl each man loved in their own way.

Even though the story is told through the multiple points of view of three men, the real start of the book is the woman who they are all in love with, in some way or another. Ah Yan, or Swallow, leaves her mar on each one of the men at some point in their life, which they reminisce about after their death.

The narrative of A Single Swallow by Ling Zhang is very lyrical, great translation by Shelly Bryant who, I believe, really captured the essence of the story and the spirit of it. A novel about a very strong woman, who constantly puts others before herself, many times in a heartbreaking fashion.

I thought that the style of making the three narrators supporting actors in the novels, while the main protagonist view point is left alone was very creative story-telling. Even though the three narrators are dead, and tell the story in hindsight, the overlapping of their narratives creates a strong story.

The first chapter or two got me interested in the concept, ghosts meeting up in a per-scheduled date and time, even though they had to wait a few decades for the meeting to cumulate fully. The narrative got slower than, but the rich language kept me going and once Ah Yan got introduced the whole story took off.

There are several brutal scenes, after all this is a novel about a war. The way the Japanese treated their Chinese captors, the way the Communists Chinese treated their own people, and of course the horrible events which Ah Yan went through are not for the faint of heart, but make the story much stronger and significant.

This is, however, a slow novel and there are a few parts which, I felt, could have been cut to make the pace faster (why do I need to know about two dogs, it added nothing to the story).

While I am not fond of 1st person narratives I found the story to be quite interesting once I got through the first third of the book. The characters were developed well and the location became very real. The life of the main character, Ah Yan, is told by others. Interesting story! but would have preferred a different format.

There are some really beautiful descriptions and the writing is lovely, but I never felt invested in the story. Jumping from each character’s POV and back and forth through time was discombobulating. I also struggled with the instances of abuse throughout.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't think I was going to get into this book to begin with but I'm glad I persevered. It was interestingly done, written from the POV of the three men whose lives were so deeply touched by Yao Ah Yan rather than from herPOV. It works well but I would have loved more of Yao Ah Yan's perspective too. The writing itself is beautiful, even if some of the content was disturbing. The translation was brilliantly done.

This book was well written. I liked the ambiance it set and I love reading about the culture. The characters got on my nerves quite a bit, but that can be expected. I found it really engaging and found myself wanting to know more.

This is an extraordinary novel. The construction of having three former war comrades meet after their death to remember their life is very clever. Through the narratives of these three men we get stroke by stroke a picture of the women ‘swallow‘ who has deeply touched each of these three men. Characteristically this women is remembered by a different name according to each man. Ah Yan,/Wende /Stella exemplifies the sacrifices made in the tumoltous time of the Japanese aggression, the ensuing Civil war and the beginning of the new communist regime. At the same time this swallow represents the suffering and of being a women in this patriarchal society. The fact that the author does not give a voice to Ah Yan confirms her underprivileged role . At the same time the sheer strength of this women shines throughout. A special mention to the translator she did an excellent job to capture the creative and poetic language . For me it is a must read book.

A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling translated by Shelly Bryant



The main character is a woman named Yao Ah Yan, meaning Swallow, whom we learn about through the eyes of three men who loved her. Even though the story revolves around her, the story is never presented from her point of view. In 1945 China, when the Japanese surrendered, three men made an agreement to meet back in the village where they spent the war, after they die. The first man, Liu Zhoahu, knew Ah Yan as a child, and their parents intended for them to get married. The second man, Pastor BIlly (both a missionary and a physician) rescued Ah Yan after she had been brutally raped by the Japanese, and she stayed with him learning to be a country doctor. Ian Ferguson, tought Liu Zhoahu and the other Chinese soldiers how to operate a guerilla war against the Japanese. He fell in love with Ah Yan when they would be out walking their dogs. Until they meet, after Ian’s death at age 94, they are unaware of the others’ roles in Ah Yan’s story.



The story is beautifully told from the point of view of the three men. The writing is very lyrical, finding beauty even in wartime. Descriptions of Pastor Billy’s old bike, the steps in Ah Yan’s village, and other little details the author puts in really gives the book a sense of place. Ah Yan was a very strong woman, many times putting other’s needs before her own. I only have two minor quibbles, neither of which will lower the 5 star rating. I would have liked to see a section from Ah Yan’s point of view, instead of assuming what she was thinking and feeling based on the memory of the men in her life. The other is, I saw no need for the final chapter, it did not add to the book other than to rationalize actions that did not need it.

I liked the depiction of tea-making and the description of rural life in pre-WWII China, as well as the author's approach in telling the story through male perspective -as it intensifies the silencing and objectification of Ah Yan- but overall, this was more style than substance for me.

Framed in the aftermath of the 2nd world war, A Single Swallow unravels the journeys of 3 Chinese men, all who have loved the same woman. A beautiful translation, A Single Swallow finds beauty and love in the most desperate of conditions and pieces together a picture of strength, dignity and resilience.

Zhang Ling has crafted a welcome new perspective for English-speaking readers of a war that still has more stories to tell.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC. Unique story about three friends and the woman they each loved in different ways during the second Chinese Japanese war, which ended in 1945 with the Emperor's surrender.

Each man promises to come back to the village when they are dead on the anniversary of the surrender, each shares how their life progressed to their death and what role the woman Wende/Stella/ Swallow had in their life.

Well done!

A story told from the point of view of a ghost? Sign me up!
Aside from the author's approach to writing this story, I was so engrossed in reading Ah Yahn/ Stella/ Wende's story for here you have one woman and we hear from three different men who met her at different times in her life- and they all sought to make her their's yet the struggle was not just that- but more about the circumstances around them, war, alliances and secrets and it seemed like where one would have a glimpse of relief, disaster would strike immediately.
It's a beautifully written book that compels you to think about war and the effects it has on people. The pace is well balanced for each narrator sets their pace and this made reading some parts interesting. Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I gave it a 4, but a 4.5 would be more accurate. While not often spoken of, China paid a heavy toll before, during and after WWII at the hands of outside foreign powers and its own internal struggles. Japanese atrocities were particularly brutal. This is a beautifully written book that follows the trauma endured by a young woman as circumstances are forced upon her and the three men who wanted to make her theirs. I am not sure there is one moment of joy for the sake of joy in Ah Yan/Stella/Wende’s life. I am not sure that any character in this book experiences a moment of contentment that isn’t shot down as soon as it blooms. The story of Millie and Ghost relieve the soul shattering events that the reader continually faces, for a time. Each story is told from beginning to end, though the dreaded epilogue is employed. There are so many instances where I paused just to think about what I had read. It is so beautifully written that even the most after-life adverse reader will forget for a time how the story is brought to us. Lastly, the translation is flawless.

This was a well-translated book with a little bit of a shaky start and end. I am aware that it is unlikely changes will be made as it is a well-established novel in the first place, however, it is worth noting that the first introductory chapters do not grab the reader so much as the story of Ah Yan from the actual beginning of her story. The language is rich and there is little that has been lost to the translation- the environment is exceptionally evocative and provides the reader with a conduit to travel to the times and places it is set in. Ah Yan suffers through many horrific things in her life and still finds within herself the agency and capacity to live a full life with her own doctor's practice and her daughter. The story is beautiful but I do find that in places it stalled a bit, namely at the beginning and the conclusion. I feel like the book would benefit from some small restructure in that fashion, but I know it is unlikely.

Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy!

This novel has a great concept driving how the story unfolds--3 comrades who survived the end of WW2 in China and heard the Japanese emperor's surrender on the radio meet back in their former village from beyond the grave after the final man dies. Primarily in the voices of the three friends, the life story of a young Chinese woman is told by the three men who loved her.

TW for some seriously brutal sexual assault scenes and rampant misogyny even from her allies, and there's one weird chapter in the middle told from the POVs of two pet dogs. Weird and not my favorite choice on behalf of the author, but not bad enough to ruin the book for me. In general, I think it was an interesting and significant choice to use all these other (male) narrators to tell the life story of a strong, determined woman who survived so much in her life. Poignant that the reader never gets to hear Ah Yan's story in her own voice.

I gather this author is a bestselling novelist in contemporary China--I hope more of her books get translated into English. I would gladly read more from her.

This book tells the story of a young woman named Ah Yan, from the perspective of three different men in China who knew her during World War II. It’s told by their ghosts, almost in conversation with each other. The writing is, at times, really engaging, namely the later quarter of the book. The middle drags on a bit because we know much of the story from the start. The author withheld plot information from the reader to keep us interested, and this slowed the pace of the book; you jump to a different perspective just as you are about to reach the answer, essentially rebooting the story.

I also found the depiction of Ah Yan and the trials she went through too serving toward the men. She’s literally silenced for chapters of the text, and much of her agency is taken away. Her life felt like a catalyst for the men in the story, and as their property almost, as we don’t get her perspective at all. There’s also pedophilia suggested, sexual assault, rape, and other abuse toward Ah Yan, which turned my stomach. She was obviously a strong woman to survive what she did, but I felt the author used her as a device rather than a full character of her own. I didn’t feel connected to her because of this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.