Interesting to read a novel about the covid pandemic that I lived through, but from the perspective of someone who experienced it in China, and Wuhan itself. Very informative but more entertaining than a straight nonfiction book.

📚 Audiobook Review – “Wuhan” by Liao Yiwu ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)

Thank you to NetGalley for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked within the organisational unit responsible for developing Australia’s vaccine response. As a non-scientist, I became fascinated by Wuhan, pandemics in general, and vaccine development, so I was eager to dive into Wuhan, a novelised documentary by Liao Yiwu.

This book blends fact and fiction, making it difficult at times to distinguish between the two. While I’ve enjoyed novelised documentaries before, this one felt slightly disjointed. However, the moments of raw fear and helplessness experienced by Wuhan’s citizens were deeply sobering.

⚠️ Trigger warning: suicide.

What stood out:
📍 Seeing the pandemic through the eyes of a Chinese citizen was fascinating – and terrifying. The Chinese government’s lengths to control the narrative about the virus were chilling.
📍 The book first follows Kcriss, a citizen reporter, who applies as a corpse carrier at a funeral home to get closer to the truth. His social media documentation is cut short when he is arrested – a powerful reminder of censorship in authoritarian regimes.
📍 Other perspectives weave through the story, providing a broader view of life in Wuhan at the height of the crisis. The claustrophobia and paranoia are palpable throughout.

Narrator Ernest Reid delivers a brilliant performance, shifting between British-accented English and Mandarin Chinese, but as a non-Mandarin speaker, I can’t comment on its accuracy.

The Verdict:
While the combination of fact and fiction left me unsettled, this audiobook gave a personal, human-centred perspective on the pandemic’s origin. If you’re intrigued by China, life under communism, or pandemic narratives, this is worth the read – but brace yourself for heavy material.

#AudiobookReview #WuhanBookReview #NetGalleyReview #PandemicLiterature

Liao Yiwu’s Wuhan: A Documentary Novel was an eye-opening read for me. As someone completely outside of China’s culture and politics, it gave me a perspective I don’t think I’d ever get from our news. What we hear is often filtered through political agendas, and Liao Yiwu's book offers a more raw, human view of what was happening in Wuhan during those early pandemic days. Through personal testimonies, it allowed me to connect with the experiences of ordinary people—many of whom were caught in the turmoil of the lockdown.

What I really appreciated was how easy the narration was to follow. The voices in the book were clear and authentic, with each person’s story standing out in its own unique way. Even though I’m unfamiliar with Chinese names and cultural contexts, the way Liao presented everything felt accessible, allowing me to connect with the stories without feeling lost.

There were parts that hit me hard. The separation of families was especially painful to read about, as family is such a huge part of life for me. The sadness of people being cut off from their loved ones felt so deep. Another section that stayed with me was when some Chinese citizens seemed to celebrate as more and more Americans died. It was difficult to digest, but it made me reflect on how often we find an enemy to blame, especially when our own struggles feel insurmountable. Regardless of politics, every life is valuable, and every death is someone’s family lost.

The historical details were fascinating, particularly the stories around virus research and the camps where testing was being done. Hearing about the fears of researchers, especially before the coronavirus outbreak officially began, was chilling. The thought that a bat escaping a cage might have led to the outbreak really brought home the gravity of the situation.

One quote that struck me was about how “political beliefs are aesthetic.” That hit hard and made me reflect on the nature of political alignment—how often it’s shaped by appearances and not deeply held beliefs.

Overall, Wuhan: A Documentary Novel was thought-provoking. It wasn’t just about the virus or the politics—it was about the people, their struggles, and the deep emotional cost of what they faced. It’s a heavy read, but one that’s well worth the time if you want to understand the human side of a global crisis.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #posthypnoticpressaudiobooks for letting me listen to #wuhan

I wasn’t sure that I was really ready to read a book about COVID, but I was very interested in getting a behind the scenes look at what was going on in Wuhan. I checked out the author, and was impressed by his willingness to criticize the Chinese Communist Party as well as pay the consequences for that. You know those nonfiction stories that read like fiction? This felt like the exact opposite—a documentary novel that blends both fact and fiction, with characters who are real and those who are made up, yet the book felt like a cohesive peek behind the curtain of secrecy in Wuhan and China as a whole.

This book starts out through the perspective of Kcriss, a citizen reporter who hears about rumors of some mysterious kind of flu occurring in Wuhan. He then makes the decision to travel to Wuhan and see what is happening there for himself. Applying as a corpse carrier at a local funeral home, he realizes how large the death toll is, especially compared to what the government is reporting to its citizens and the world.

From there, we get to see through the eyes of other people close to ground zero for what we know now is COVID-19. Ai Ding is a married man returning from business in Germany, and struggling to get home to Wuhan through all of the roadblocks that arise. His elderly father is sick and he’s very motivated to get home, facing multiple disinfections and quarantines (paid for out of his own pocket), as the government tries to do everything to keep the events in Wuhan quiet. The entire book is told through the eyes of several characters, and narrated by one narrator, Ernest Reid. He did a fantastic job with the characters and the story, effortlessly switching between British-accented English and Mandarin Chinese, with a Wuhan dialect, although I’d defer to a Mandarin speaker since I don’t speak Chinese.

This combination of fact and fiction in order to provide a look into Wuhan gives the start of the pandemic a personalized feel. Rather than seeing lists of names and numbers of people dead, we get to know a few people very well, and see how deeply this wreaked havoc under the oppressive regime in China. I’m always fascinated by the experiences of ordinary people, especially when they’re featured against the backdrop of extraordinary circumstances. We got an in-depth view of what it is like living under a communist regime that controls every aspect of their citizens lives, including using an Internet wall to prevent free exchange of ideas on the web.

It doesn’t take long for claustrophobia to set in while reading this. There’s a simmering threat throughout the story, and it bubbles over as the government works harder to manage the crisis playing out in Wuhan and media propaganda scrambles to find a way to spin it. Despite reading books about life under various dictatorships, and having heard about it first-hand from my father, it wasn’t until this book that it hit home how corrupt the dictatorship always becomes, and how quickly they manage to bring an entire population under their control.

One of the first similarities for me was seeing how this crisis was handled compared to the USSR management of the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Meltdown, which I actually remember seeing on the news as a kid. The government of the USSR downplayed the nuclear reactor accident until they were unable to, as reactors in Western Europe were picking up increased levels of radiation. Much like in Wuhan, the government was offering significantly lower death tolls than the people on the ground were seeing, with trucks full of dead bodies being brought to the crematorium. The people of Wuhan were dying in large numbers, with entire families succumbing to this new disease that the government is telling them not to worry about. As with any other oppressive regime, they have a complex system of monitoring residents and quickly identifying anyone who isn’t toeing the party line, subjecting them to imprisonment and torture.

Overall, this was a really well done novel, and it felt like the perfect combination of facts and fiction to give a documentary feel with a personal spin. It’s a lot easier to identify with the characters when we realize it’s just a matter of location between them and us—I may not be living under a dictatorship, but this book also tears off the rose-colored glasses being shone on communism, and how the people in China coped with this explosion of disease. Throughout the book, the author refers to COVID as ‘the Wuhan virus’ in that it originated in Wuhan, and shares the wet market story of where the virus came from, along with the more sinister idea that it was a leak from the P4 lab that led to this pandemic which changed the world as all of us know it. This would be a great read if you like thoughtful novels, getting a sneak peek into the start of a pandemic, are intrigued by China or life under communism, and documentaries that read like fiction, and I can enthusiastically recommend the audiobook version for clear pronunciation of Chinese words that I would never have had any idea how to pronounce.

Confusing! There are so many different things thrown at you that it’s difficult to keep it all straight. I think this was following three distinct parties but I am not sure. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the actual people they were talking about but every so often there would be some nuggets of information thrown in about what is happening in China at the time and these were interesting. Otherwise, I was completely lost.

This is a hard one to rate. I had a hard time following it- not sure if it was the book itself or my lack of familiarity with the names of people and places. And I’m not entirely sure which parts of it are real and which are fictional (although I know there is an appendix I could use). But the ending was really powerful.

There was a lot happening and it felt a bit difficult to navigate between fiction and reality. I did appreciate this view into the landscape of the pandemic within China on a more granular level as it compared to my own stark experience in the US. It was eye opening to get more confirmation of what news circulated in western media and the validity of some of it within the context of what was actually happening in Wuhan.

Wuhan was an enjoyable audible book to listen to. A lot of the questions on conspiracy theories and other interesting interpretations of the history of Covid 19 were answered and delved deeper into with this great documentary. When it comes to thus disease leaving the country it seems that there we’re still a lot of uncertainty about what the truth was and what we know. I would definitely recommend this book and felt the audible version was easy to listen to and narrator did a good job.

audio-ARC from NetGalley.

What did I just read? The chaos and confusion from the beginning of the pandemic are perfectly personified in this book.

The narrator did a really good job. My confusion lay within the book overall. I genuinely struggled to make sense of the timelines and people whose stories we followed. I never truly understood what was going on or why or how it all tied together. I'm not even sure what's real and what's not.

Still, this made for a compelling read and I'm still deeply saddened by the loss of life, the ruination of Hong Kong, and the criminalization of those whose only goal was truth.

Fabulously narrated by Ernest Reid, Wuhan by Liao Yiwu is a haunting and urgent exploration of the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, told through the lens of Kcriss, a young citizen journalist who defies government narratives to expose the truth.

As whispers of an unusual illness in Wuhan begin to emerge on social media, 25-year-old Kcriss takes the bold step of heading straight to the epicenter to uncover what’s really happening. To gain access, he applies for work as a "corpse carrier" at a funeral home, a position that brings him face-to-face with the grim reality behind the official death toll. The contrast between the government's reported figures and the scenes at overwhelmed crematoria reveals a harrowing cover-up.

However, his moment of truth-telling is fleeting. With every live broadcast to his followers, Kcriss edges closer to danger. His daring documentation catches the attention of the authorities, culminating in his arrest by the security police—an event captured and broadcast to the world before he is silenced.

Liao Yiwu, a dissident poet and critic of the Chinese government, crafts a novel that merges hard facts with creative narrative. Having faced persecution and exile himself, Liao’s writing is steeped in the defiance and courage of those who dare to challenge oppressive systems. This work sheds light on the secretive handling of the pandemic's origins, juxtaposing the spread of the virus with the equally insidious influence of state propaganda.

Blending investigative depth with an evocative narrative, Wuhan lays bare the devastating effects of authoritarian control on public health and freedom of information. It is a searing indictment of the lengths regimes will go to maintain their image, even at the expense of countless lives, making it essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the complex interplay between power, truth, and human suffering. Liao Yiwu’s Wuhan is essential reading for understanding the pandemic’s devastating impact and the cost of silencing dissent. #PostHypnoticPressAudiobooks #liaoyiwu #wuhananovel

China, Chinese-culture, Chinese-customs, communism, epidemiology, epidemic, historical, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, secrets, cover-up, Covid, lies, propaganda, political-intrigue, politicians, politics, investigative-journalist****

This is a novelized documentary of the dire events in Communist China at the beginning of the epidemic of disease and death as related by a citizen reporter. I have not read anything purporting to be written by any reporters in situ before this, only western slants on what happened and its effects on the world at large. The author (and therefore the reporter) is anticommunist and under government scrutiny. This is not a book I chose to read in one sitting, but in bites so that I could think on the similarities and differences in how the information about the epidemic/pandemic was shared to their own populations. I learned a lot and intend to get my own copy so that I can dig into the info in the PDF.
I can only believe that some of the issues about the speed and smooth transitions in the novel relate to translator Michael M. Day's attempts to reformat Chinese standard presentation into customary western readability.
Narrator Ernest Reid is a credit to his profession.
Wuhan on Audio includes supplementary PDF
I requested and received a temporary digital file from Post Hypnotic Press Audiobooks via NetGalley. Thank you!
#Wuhan by Liao Yiwu Narrated by Ernest Reid Translated by Michael M. Day #NetGalley #DocumentaryNovel #China #PostHypnoticPressAudiobooks #Politics #Epidemic @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble @kobobooks @waterstones **** #Review @booksamillion @bookshop_org @bookshop_org_uk #Covid

3.5 stars

Liao Yiwu (b. 1958) is a Chinese dissident, author, reporter, musician and poet. Liao is a critic of China's Communist Party, for which he's been imprisoned. Most of Liao's writing has been banned in China, and he's been living as an expat in Germany since 2011. Liao is critical of China's early handling of the Covid pandemic, and this 'documentary novel', first published in Germany in 2022, depicts China's mismanagement of the crisis and its harsh repression of 'truth-tellers.' Liao calls Covid-19 the 'Wuhan virus' and begins his book with a note that says: "Wuhan virus" is not a political term, but rather an objective description of the truth. Wuhan is the birthplace of the powerful virus that is harming the world today; or one could say the virus was first discovered in Wuhan.

Some characters in the novel are real people portraying actual events, and the book paints a picture of a secretive regime trying to obfuscate the origin of the Covid virus, and a government determined to deflect blame for the Covid catastrophe.

Many non-fiction books have been written about China and the Covid pandemic, but Liao's novel takes a more personal approach, showing characters separated from their families, experiencing losses, writing poems (including a suicide poem), committing suicide, getting arrested and 'disappeared', and more.

For example, the family of Chinese film director Chang Kai fell ill one after another, and all died within 17 days. Chang left a testament of his ordeal:

'As everyone knows, a nightmare has befallen us. On New Year's Day, my father came down with a fever and a cough, had difficulty breathing, and I went with him to several hospitals for treatment. But they all reported there were no beds available. Extremely disappointed, we came home to attempt to save ourselves. A few days later, my old father left this world with recriminations in his heart. After such a heavy blow, my mother was exhausted both physically and mentally, her immune system failed, and she too became severely infected and died. After serving my parents at their deathbeds for several days, the ruthless coronavirus also devoured my wife and me.....To all the people I love and who love me, I bid you farewell forever.'

The story is replete with this kind of hardship.

*****

The book opens with a real-life event: In February 2020, when the city of Wuhan has been sealed off for more than a month, rumors are circulating about a Wuhan virus killing thousands of people. A 25-year-old citizen reporter called Kcriss Li wants to expose the truth. So Kcriss goes to Wuhan to investigate. The number of bodies at funeral homes/crematoriums show China is vastly downplaying the number of Covid deaths, and the Huanan Seafood Market, suspected as being the source of the virus, is closed down and has been sterilized.

Some people believe Covid was released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a P4 lab (highest biosafety level), and Kcriss drives over to have a look. While Kcriss is surveilling the lab, National Security Agents notice him, and a frenzied car chase ensues. Kcriss manages to get back to the apartment he's renting, and sets up his computer to record sound and video as the National Security Agents pound on his door. After several hours, Kcriss lets the agents in, and is taken away on camera (you can see this on YouTube).

The rest of the book largely revolves around a (fictional) Chinese man named Ai Ding, who lives in Wuhan with his family, but works in Germany. Just as Ai Ding is flying from Berlin to China for the annual Spring Festival, Wuhan and other cities are shut down tight, with no one allowed in or out. Ai Ding's flight from Beijing to Wuhan is therefore canceled, and Ai Ding phones his wife, assuring her he'll get home one way or another. Ai Ding's wife urges him to be cautious, explaining she's looking after Ai Ding's sick 93-year-old father, and can't help if Ai Ding gets into trouble. Ai Ding's wife also describes the terrible situation in Wuhan, including seeing a crematorium van - loaded with bodies - from her window.

Ai Ding is shocked. "At the time, he still didn't understand what his wife was describing would also eventually become the daily epidemic situation throughout the country." Before the closure of the cities, anticipating the Spring Festival, millions of people fanned out across China from Wuhan, and there was no way to test them, much less diagnose and isolate them. "Hundreds of thousands of people who were fine today, without a fever or cough, might tomorrow suddenly fall to the ground, twitch a few times and die."

The remainder of the book follows Ai Ding as he attempts to make his way back to his family, a VERY DIFFICULT proposition. Ai Ding is frequently stopped by guards at checkpoints, where's he's sprayed with disinfectant and his papers are checked. Sometimes Ai Ding is allowed to proceed, and sometimes he's forced to stay quarantined in a hotel (at his own expense). Along the way, Ai Ding has some good luck and some bad luck, and he meets other 'refugees', including people experiencing severe hardships. One man, whom Ai Ding dubs 'Hatchet Face' is living in his van on a short bridge, not allowed to get off at either end. Once a week Hatchet Face's wife comes to one of the checkpoints to bring her husband food and take away his trash.

Ai Ding can communicate with the rest of China via Weibo and WeChat, but Ai Ding - and everyone else in the country - has to be VERY CAREFUL about posting online. Controversial comments about Covid (or anything else) are deleted immediately by Chinese censors, and any comments that don't toe the Communist party line can lead to arrests, disappearances, and 'suicide' by "jumping' off a building. So the population is afraid to even hypothesize about China's role in the pandemic.

Ai Ding manages to get over the Chinese firewall to Skype with his Chinese friend in Germany almost every day, and the two men 'share' many glasses of wine as they talk about their families; the situation in China; philosophy; poetry; the possible origin of the Covid virus; and so on. Slowly but surely Ai Ding gets closer and closer to his home in Wuhan, and eventually restrictions are lifted. This isn't the end of Ai Ding's story though.....

Towards the end of the book, there's a long chapter about the origin and spread of Covid, including a whole gamut of opinions. One idea is even that an American soldier was patient zero, and joint military operations in China brought Covid there. The consensus is that Covid originated in China, perhaps jumping from bats to humans, and the determination of the Chinese government to cover up the problem allowed the spread of the virus to the whole world.

The novel provides a sad picture of human suffering caused by the pandemic. One scene, in which a little Chinese boy covers his dead grandfather with a blanket 'to keep him warm', then subsists on crackers for days until the neighbors find him, is just one tragic tale.

This 'hybrid' book, which adds to the many tomes addressing Covid, is worth reading to get a wider picture of the pandemic. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ernest Reid, who does an excellent job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Liao Yiwu, and Post-Hypnotic Press Audiobooks for a copy of the book.

Okay, so like, this book was kinda a mixed bag for me? Like, I totally get what it was going for, but the vibe just didn’t click. It’s supposed to be this mash-up of fiction and real-life events, and while that sounds super intense and cool, it was, like, all over the place? One minute you're getting these eerie, haunting scenes, and the next it's, like, going on these loooong tangents that made me zone out. Like, part documentary, part storytelling, but not quite nailing either?

I mean, the story had its moments. The whole corpse carrier thing? That was totally chilling, like something out of a dark indie film. The raw moments of, like, actual danger and censorship? Yeah, those hit hard. You feel the weight of it all. But then it got bogged down with this meandering style that just felt... extra? I found myself low-key wishing for more focus and less, like, random backstory vibes.

As for the big message? Yeah, it's heavy. The secrecy, the lies, the everything—I felt that. But TBH, it felt more like the author wanted to point fingers than, like, actually dive deep into the pandemic itself. It’s not super factual, so if you're looking for that, you might be like, umm, what?

In the end, it’s a meh for me. Super interesting premise, but the execution wasn’t it.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest thoughts! 💕