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Petrus Liu
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Beijing Comrades: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Bei Tong (Author), Scott E. Myers (Translator), Petrus Liu (Afterword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 142 ratings
The sensational underground novel of homosexuality in late-1980s China that’s been declared “one of the most significant Chinese novels of our time” (The New York Times).
 
When Handong, the ruthless, wealthy son of Communist party officials, is introduced to Lan Yu, a naïve, working-class architecture student, the attraction between the two young men is instant and all-consuming. Despite their very different lives, they spend their nights together, establishing a deep connection. But when their loyalties are tested, Handong is left questioning his secrets, his choices, and his very identity . . .
 
Beijing Comrades is the story of a tumultuous love affair set against the sociopolitical unrest of late-eighties China. Due to its depiction of gay sexuality and its critique of the totalitarian government, it was originally published anonymously on an illegal gay-themed website within mainland China.
 
This riveting and heartbreaking novel quickly developed a cult following, and remains “a meaningful excavation of homophobia and daily life in a rapidly changing China,” and “a traditional story of forbidden love in all the most classic, wonderful, and devastating ways” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    405 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The Feminist Press at CUNY
  4. Publication date
    February 22, 2016
  5. File size
    3.4 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the most significant Chinese novels of our time.” —The New York Times
 
“While Beijing Comrades provides a meaningful excavation of homophobia and daily life in a rapidly changing China, it is ultimately a traditional story of forbidden love in all the most classic, wonderful, and devastating ways.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“Beijing Comrades is both a valuable piece of global gay history and a political phenomenon . . . But the universal themes, and the deeply personal rendering of the story, endear the characters to us in ways quite distinct from the book’s importance as a monument of literature and queer theory.” —Lambda Literary Review
 
“The novel moves seamlessly from humor to frantic passion to sorrow, and Myers’s use of language captures these disparate emotions perfectly.” —LA Review of Books
 
“The book falls significantly higher on the erotica spectrum than Fifty Shades of Gray. . . . Created on a website, crowd-sourced in serial, Beijing Comrades is the people’s public fantasy of intimacy.” —The Millions
 
“A melancholic parable in which desire and self-interest reconfigure revolutionary ideals and unbridled investments in a neoliberal new world order.” —David L. Eng, author of The Feeling of Kinship

About the Author

Bei-Tong is the anonymous author of Beijing Comrades. The pseudonymous author, whose real-world identity has been a subject of debate since the story was first published on a gay Chinese website over a decade ago, is known variously as Beijing Comrade, Beijing Tongzhi, Xiao He, and Miss Wang.

Scott E. Myers is a translator of Chinese who focuses on contemporary queer fiction from the PRC. He holds a BA in philosophy from Hampshire College and master’s degrees in Comparative Literature from New York University, in Chinese Translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago. A former union organizer with experience in China's workers' rights movement, his translation of the diary of a retail worker in China appears in the book Walmart in China (ILR Press/Cornell University Press, 2011). Recently, he has been translating the work of avant-garde poet and novelist Mu Cao. His translations of Mu’s poems have appeared in Epiphany journal (Winter 2014), and he is currently translating Mu’s 2003 novel Outcast. Originally from California, he is a Mandarin teacher at a high school in Denver, Colorado.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01BO2IT9G
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Feminist Press at CUNY (February 22, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 22, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.4 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 405 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 142 ratings

About the author

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Petrus Liu

Petrus Liu

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
142 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read, with one review noting the natural dialogue and narration. Moreover, the novel receives positive feedback for its gay content, with one customer describing it as the most important modern Chinese gay novel. Additionally, the pacing is praised as heartbreakingly beautiful, and customers appreciate its scholarly approach, with one review highlighting its importance as a period piece about Communist China.

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10 customers mention "Readability"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well written and easy to read, with one customer noting that the translation is very accessible.

"...The wonderful translation by Scott Myers brings this legendary work of queer literature from China to the English speaking audience, and we discover..." Read more

"...I had expected a clunky novel, but the story is actually quite interesting and the characters are well drawn...." Read more

"...The author sensitively explores the story of an on-again, off-again relationship between a successful businessman and a college student during a..." Read more

"This is definitely the most scholarly and reader-friendly version of one of the most important queer texts of the twentieth century." Read more

6 customers mention "Enjoyment"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book great.

"...It is an honest, wonderful, and powerful novel about the struggles of two men to find and hold on to love...." Read more

"I enjoyed the book mostly. It was repetitive at times. This is a ground braking novel from China-one great reason to read it." Read more

"Great book, wonderful look at the Culture!" Read more

"Riveting, gripping, emotional - a truly Great Book!..." Read more

4 customers mention "Gay content"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the gay content in the book, with one customer describing it as the most important modern Chinese gay novel.

"This is the most important modern Chinese gay novel, finally available in English...." Read more

"The ground-breaking LGBT novel, now in a newly expanded, unexpurgated version beautifully translated into English...." Read more

"Well written riveting story that gives a personal and poinent view of gay life and its cultural conflicts in China. Very enjoyable read." Read more

"The best gay literature from China" Read more

4 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, describing it as heartbreakingly beautiful, with one customer noting how well it captures the feeling of Beijing.

"...Besides describing gay life, the novel also does a good job capturing the feeling of Beijing in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the economy..." Read more

"Heartbreakingly beautiful. Everyone should read this book. I couldn't stop thinking about it for ages after I was finished." Read more

"...watched the movie and come back to the novel they are both sad and beautiful" Read more

"Great book, wonderful look at the Culture!" Read more

4 customers mention "Scholarly content"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the scholarly content of the book, with one review highlighting its importance as a period piece about Communist China and another noting its insights into cultural conflicts in the country.

"This is definitely the most scholarly and reader-friendly version of one of the most important queer texts of the twentieth century." Read more

"Interesting on many levels. The main character must have been a great sex partner as other than money he was quite deficient in any attributes...." Read more

"...The life presented gives a fascinating peak at conditions in the 80s and 90s...." Read more

"...that gives a personal and poinent view of gay life and its cultural conflicts in China. Very enjoyable read." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Max Koss
    5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, gripping, emotional - a truly Great Book!
    Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This book is devastating. And I mean this as the highest of compliments. It takes you on a roller coaster of emotions, leaving you at times believing in the beauty of the world, at other times despairing at the prosaic realities of life and its unfair twists and turns. Beijing Comrades tackles the big questions about love and happiness, and while situated at a pivotal moment in Chinese history, the story reverberates across time, and across geography. The wonderful translation by Scott Myers brings this legendary work of queer literature from China to the English speaking audience, and we discover a triumph of a book! A stunning must read.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Dewdrop
    4.0 out of 5 stars the most important Chinese gay novel, now in English
    Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is the most important modern Chinese gay novel, finally available in English. I had expected a clunky novel, but the story is actually quite interesting and the characters are well drawn. It also sets down some of the standard themes of gay life in China that continue to this day - such as the importance of class relations and the homophobia of family members.

    The translation is also good - the dialogue and narration seem very natural.

    Besides describing gay life, the novel also does a good job capturing the feeling of Beijing in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the economy started to take off. The hutongs have almost all been torn down and that world has disappeared forever, so this novel is also an unintended document of a vanished era.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • GAR
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh and vibrant story of two men whose love persists despite many obstacles
    Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The ground-breaking LGBT novel, now in a newly expanded, unexpurgated version beautifully translated into English. The author sensitively explores the story of an on-again, off-again relationship between a successful businessman and a college student during a time when China's economy was beginning its incredible growth trajectory, and the student protests were about to erupt in Tienanmen Square. Both events deeply affect the central characters and their relationship. The novel's conclusion may strike the reader as abrupt, but a wistful memory of this couple's vibrant love lingers beyond the last page.
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  • nooneyouwouldwanttoknow
    3.0 out of 5 stars I’m glad I read it, but it doesn’t live up to the hype.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    For most of the novel, Chen Handong is a bed-hopping male villain-protagonist along the lines of Rabbit Angstrom. Like Rabbit, he is well fleshed out and credible, even when he behaves reprehensibly. The reader may love him or hate him, but the reader will understand what motivates him to do what he does and will want to see what happens next. Along the way, he provides a perfect simile for obsessive love. Toward the end of the novel, he takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride.

    However, the novel is not strong enough to give such a character his due. Some conflicts resolve themselves too easily, sometimes through the power of "tell; don't show." The supporting characters often show extremes of loyalty, when in real life, they would likely think that Handong was getting what was coming to him. Sometimes, the novel seems to veer into the realm of escapism and wish fulfillment, with unlimited money, beauty, and sex and no worry about HIV or other sexually transmitted illnesses. The ending is mawkish and clichéd.

    The novel also often falls flat in terms of giving a sense of time and place, although Chinese censorship could have to do with it. In much of the novel, Beijing during a tumultuous period in Chinese history could just as well be Northern Virginia during a relatively placid period in American history.

    If you read it, I recommend that you skip the afterword by Petrus Liu. Writing in humanities-department-speak, Liu shoehorns the novel, and everything else, into a world view in which he is obviously a true believer. As other reviewers have pointed out, he sometimes rewrites the novel to do so.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • EllisScottPollard
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Edition of a Hugely Significant Work of Gay History
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is definitely the most scholarly and reader-friendly version of one of the most important queer texts of the twentieth century.
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  • SeekerStill
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Web Legend Is Finally Available in a Definitive English Translation
    Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I am so glad this story was finally translated into English! It is an honest, wonderful, and powerful novel about the struggles of two men to find and hold on to love. Scott Myers's translation is very accessible (in other words, his translation of Bei Tong's moving story is cohesive and easy to read). Long a Web legend, BEIJING COMRADES can now join the regrettably small ranks of gay Chinese classics available in English. I love this book (and the movie adaptation, "Lan Yu"). I give it my highest recommendation.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • R. Lepien
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great book - but it has a personal gripe in it.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This book was advertised in the "Week" magazine as something one should read - the first gay novel to come out of China - the book starts in the 1980's and goes forward through some turbulent times in the history of China, and how gays were treated in China at that time - I would have given the book a five star rating - but (spoiler alert) one of the main characters is killed at the end of the book - seems like gays can never ride off into the sunset like straight romantic characters - one always has to get killed - look at "Brokeback Mountain" - I'm tired of this - like to see a gay couple get a happy ending!
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreakingly beautiful. Everyone should read this book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2017
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    Heartbreakingly beautiful. Everyone should read this book. I couldn't stop thinking about it for ages after I was finished.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • _Platon_
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wunderbare Übersetzung
    Reviewed in Germany on April 10, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Ich habe das Buch aus Neugier gekauft und konnte es nach Beginn kaum aus der Hand legen. Mich hat das Buch sehr gefesselt und berührt. Die Verfilmung der Geschichte steht noch aus, allerdings wird es schwer sein, das Buch zu toppen.
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  • paperman
    5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars is not enough
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Great book, great writing, great translation,
    I was pulled in the story, wonderfull.
    I cry for Yan Lu, such a good, lovely guy, i want him anytime.
    Report
  • Krista
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on June 15, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    A really lovely, well-written story with a rather tragic ending.
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  • KXReviews
    4.0 out of 5 stars Almost 5 stars.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    It is a good book and having lived in China it gave me a lot of nostalgia. It is an amazing read, however some of it is very heavy with sexual focused parts. It’s no necessarily a bad thing but I just felt it was slightly overdone.
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  • John
    4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on many fronts
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    An excellent book on many fronts. It gives insights into life in china just after the cultural revolution, as well as emotional and social issues experienced by gay men in that situation.
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