THE SEASON OF THE STRANGER

The Harper Find is an unusual novel set in a Chinese city to the South as the tide of Red China approaches. Though the story is told through the eyes of an American professor at a Chinese university (and through the stream of consciousness of the Chinese girl he loves, daughter of a venal high official) one gets a panorama of life at a new level, through the restless younger generation, the students with their meetings, the teachers- playing safe, and the leaders of the resistance in danger from both sides. Through the story as Girard and Li-ling strive to reach a common basis of understanding, each of them learns to make concessions- he to her loyalties even though they are at odds with her happiness, she to his refusal to make a deal with her father. And at the end, when the city falls and Girard is tricked to his death, Li-ling and Girard's servant carry on the beliefs for which Girard had died.. The style seems almost like a translation, closer to the Chinese than the English, but this is integral to the authenticity of atmosphere.