Sophia C. reviewed on + 289 more book reviews
Dream of Ding Village is a morally complex story about a rural Chinese village dealing with the aftermath of HIV/AIDS due to unscrupulous blood-selling. However, it was likely censored in China as a thinly veiled critique of the country's runaway development. The story is strangely narrated by a 12-year-old ghost, the son of the chief "bloodhead" of Ding Village in Henan province who was poisoned in retaliation for most of the town coming down with "the fever" after a short-term prosperity. The story mainly follows his grandfather and uncle's experiences in the village, but there are also long italicized dream sequences. I wish there was more about the actual blood-selling days, which is based on real events. Dream of Ding Village is a sometimes depressing tale of how extreme poverty, greed, corruption, and ignorance conspire to decimate the environment and the village; there are no innocent victims. However, it is also a strong cautionary tale of how karma works in cycles.
