MERRY-GO-ROUND BROKE DOWN

Woo and Shinar’s novel-in-stories traces the human consequences of globalization across two decades.

The novel begins in New York in 2008 in the midst of a shooting at a conference. A group of bystanders that includes a Chinese tycoon, an American CEO, and a Japanese celebrity is taken hostage. The narrative then moves back in time to 1999 Shangcheng, where the “uneventful factory township” is preparing for a visit from the American purchasers of said factory. The communal gathering celebrating the sale of the local factory is interrupted by protests (“Down with America! Down with imperialism!”), since anti-American sentiments have been stoked by the war in Kosovo and the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. The town’s mayor, Liang Dacheng, is able to appease the proctors, but he receives a threatening letter: “I know all about your treason.” An American CEO, Ryan Forrester, had offered Liang $250,000 to be deposited into an offshore bank account, along with 5% commission in stocks, to sell the factory for less than it was worth—and someone close to Liang knows his secret. The story then shifts to Cleveland, Ohio, in 2002, taking the perspective of Forrester. It’s now been three years since the underhanded deal to buy the factory was made, and while he’s reaped the benefits, others have not. The question becomes: Who will pay the cost of globalization? The shifting points of view are a treat, allowing readers to experience the ways in which the different characters’ backgrounds have shaped their relationships with wealth and greed. The authors pithily evoke the international effects of globalization: “The golden flares from the blast furnaces out there no longer a show of power but merely the shrunken remnants of Ohio’s once-thriving steelworks, which had, for the most part, relocated to China.” Woo and Shinar’s use of imagery is masterful, vividly evoking the various international settings as the story offers sharp critiques of capitalism.

A timely portrait of a world bound together by the pursuit of profit.