The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai

August 2, 2010
Li Jing is a Shanghai investment banker whose head injury renders him able to speak only the English of his American childhood, leaving his wife, Meiling, perplexed and uncomprehending, in Xu's ambitious debut. Diagnosed with Broca's aphasia, Li's recovery is uncertain, with hope resting on Rosalyn Neal, an American doctor who's fled problems back home in Oklahoma. Li refuses to speak at all until Rosalyn begins to reveal her own past, moving Li to recall his time in the U.S. he left at the age of 10. The two women fight for Li's life and loyalty; as Li makes progress, he grows more distant from Meiling, and her efforts to preserve their former life. Xu lovingly recreates 1999 Shanghai and skillfully shows the culture clashes among the city's native, immigrant, and ex-patriate populations, swinging gracefully between these worlds, but she gets snagged in her own intricate plotting. The characters are portrayed with empathy and care, but the suspense over Jing's fate is lost in too many narrative digressions and an ending that falls flat.