Heartbreakingly sad, beautifully written and filled with edge-of-your-seat tension, A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is a stunning exploration of war, feminine power, and the ability to endure.
Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, the story opens with Xishi washing silk in a river on the border of her small poverty-stricken town in the Kingdom of Yue. Xishi’s otherwordly beauty draws the attention of the King’s famous military advisor, Fanli, who promises to ensure Xishi’s parents are well looked after in exchange for her becoming a tool to be used against their enemies in the Wu Kingdom.
Stricken by the urge for revenge against the Kingdom who slaughtered her younger sister and the chance to improve the lives of her people, Xishi agrees to become a concubine for the Wu King. Accompanied by her friend Zhengdan, Xishi is tasked with infliltrating the palace, winning the King’s heart, and weakening the kingdom from within, thereby opening the way for her own people to attack.
The story is moving and devastating on many different levels, exploring grief, privilege and feminine power seamlessly from one passage to the next. Xishi’s anger and grief for the treatment of her people and the senseless murder of her sister leads her to believe that all of the Wu people are monsters. But, when she becomes part of the Wu court, she is forced to confront that the people are not much different to her own. This makes the tension and conclusion of the story that much more interesting as Xishi struggles with what her actions will mean for the people she has been surrounded by on a daily basis for the years in which she is at court.
One of the things I loved most about this book was that it didn’t treat Xishi’s beauty as simply a blessing or a cursing, but rather entangled the multitudes held within it, and accurately reflects the often contradictory nature of feminine beauty. Xishi is also allowed to recognise her own beauty – since she has been told she is beautiful her entire life – without being seen as arrogant and without nitpicking flaws in her own appearance. This is a refreshing divergence from most tales of beauty which require the main character to either be overly modest or excessively stuck up.
I admit, the one element I didn’t feel was a strong as the rest of the story was the love story between Xishi and Fanli, which is possibly because of how quickly the first part of the book, where they spend the most time together, moves. The result of this being their romance feels underdeveloped before Xishi leaves for the Wu court. Nevertheless, if you like a love story as part of a darker overall tale, and you don’t mind romances that form quickly, you’ll find Xishi and Fanli’s story together moving.
Overall, A Song to Drown Rivers is a gorgeously woven tale that draws readers into a time defined by war, legend and myth. Liang’s writing is entertaining and vivid, filling the story with rich imagery whilst also keeping the story moving along at an enjoyable pace. The characters are nuanced, and she does a remarkable job of allowing readers to sympathise with characters without making them forgiveable.
Liang will draw you in with sweet words and political intrigue before unapologetically breaking your heart. She proves, with this book, why she is a New York Times bestselling author and a master storyteller.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang is available now from Pan Macmillan Australia. Grab yourself a copy from your local bookshop HERE.
