Chaos and All That Jazz

Chaos and All That by Liu Sola has my recommendation, no doubt! This novel was not only wildly entertaining, but also historically insightful and emotionally potent. The first chapter is an unique disarray rarely experienced by readers, and it is essential to surrender to Sola’s writing style in order to fully appreciate her content. Readers are encouraged to approach this book with an open mind, and in that case, be prepared for a fast pace from the first page.

This story follows the life of Huang Haha as she is born into China’s “Old Society,” trust into the Cultural Revolution, and comes out a changed woman in London. Although the novel provides detailed accounts of significant moments in Huang’s life, these moments are hurled at the reader sporadically and far from chronological order. At times its difficult to become rooted in Huang’s life, but this is an effective tool used to indicate even Huang’s difficultly in securing her own stability.

Lack of stability, or appropriately named chaos, is a central theme throughout the narrative, and this is in part derived from the emphasis on extremism. The Cultural Revolution was a radical movement, so naturally people were either labeled as revolutionary or they were considered to be the epitome of evil, also known as capitalists. Even as a kindergartener Haha’s class is polarized and taught to denounce evil where evil does not exist. Instability arises from reliance on radicalism as a constructive social force. It is particularly disturbing when children take on the characteristics of a die-hard revolutionary. The irony lies in the fact that most of Mao’s most avid supporters were too young to fully comprehend his policies. As seen in Sola’s novel, youngsters were eager to fight when they only understood that “the most essential qualification for being a Red Guard was that you had to be able to say to people’s faces the kinds of thing you usually only find written on toilet walls” (Sola 19).

Excessive swearing surprised me when I first read this novel, however the constant barrage of curse words soon lost its effect. Even coming from kids I began to even expect curses to the point where I was surprised when a character could get through a conversation with a clean mouth. This desensitization proves an important point. It shows how no matter how foul something is, with enough exposure it becomes average, and this is how the Cultural Revolution affected the Chinese. Men, women, and children had no other choice but to persevere, and with time they became accustomed to the chaos surrounding them.

Another form of chaos that carries over into today is the frantic scrambling of Chinese mothers to produce super-kids capable of excelling at any talent. Haha describes a time when her mother forces her to practice ballet, opera, and painting. Unfortunately, Haha has difficulty with all three. I found this passage amusing because it still holds significance so many years later. Recently an article by Amy Chua explained how Chinese mothers simply believe in their children more than American mothers who shy away from tenacity. This is a reminder that despite China belonging to the sensational idea of the Orient, the issues dealt with in Chinese novels are still relevant to modern Western culture.

On the note of Western culture, I found it very interesting how Sola’s novel portrayed the West, in particular England, to be a land leaning toward the degenerate. The only portal into the West is Michael, a man of many affairs. Its odd how Haha leaves China to live in a country where capitalists exploit workers (according to Mao) and she finds a prominent professor who sexually exploits his female students. So although the West may not be home to greedy capitalist-roaders, neither is it a paradise of virtue.

When it comes to Western culture, we place clear demands on our literature. Most appreciate a linear plot, consistent language, structure, and cohesion. Chaos and All That is a novel that reaches well beyond many comfort zones, yet in stretching ourselves we become open to new and valuable experiences. I maintain my recommendation of Sola’s novel even in the face of disagreement. I was certainly captured from the very first line.
“Why wasn’t I just born an ant?”