Book Review: Souls Left Behind by Fan Wu

About the Book: 

Souls Left Behind by Fan Wu
Translated by Honey Watson

We were the Chinese Labour Corps, all 140,000 of us. Sailing eastwards in the final years of the Great War, youth bound to toil behind the trenches of France. Too many of us will never see home again.

Anne Zhang’s father is missing, the feast for his 85th birthday is going cold.

Pride, desperation or hope? Meaningless amid the horror. Somehow I survived, and with Marguerite’s help found roots in this foreign land.

Never one to share a burden, the years since mother’s passing have only claimed the few who remember a painful past.

The battlefields have long since scabbed over with cornflowers. My comrades stare back at me as gravestones. I tend to them, lest they be reduced to forgotten characters of a language that no local understands.

No one told Anne of their stories, nor does she have time to listen.

When I’m gone, who will speak for us?

Published 2024   ✧  Fan Wu   ✧  Sinoist Books  ✧  Personal Library

Thoughts and Reflections: 

  Men of the Chinese Labour Corps unload a lorry at Boulogne on August 12, 1917.

I owe my reading of Souls Left Behind to the references K.F. Kuang made to the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) in Yellowface. Kuang’s fiction centers on a stolen manuscript inspired by the history of the CLC, but it doesn’t explore the material directly. The omission inspired a search for a novel that would fill the gap, a search that led directly to Fan Wu’s 2024 release.  

 

Though officially neutral for much of the First World War, China allowed labor recruitment for the French and British campaigns to begin in 1916. By the end of the conflict, some 140,000 Chinese citizens would accept the terms of these contracts and lend themselves to the most backbreaking functions of Entente operations.

Fan Wu explores the experiences of these men through Delun. Unlike most Labour Corps recruits, Delun is the son of a wealthy merchant and is driven to enlist by his disdain for the life and cultural mores his parents impose on him. His decision to enlist changes the trajectory of his life and sends him more than halfway around the world to the front lines of northern France.

A testament to the CLC’s oft-forgotten and overlooked contributions, Souls Left Behind highlights the physical hardship of digging trenches, repairing roads and railways, filling sandbags, building munitions depots, and staffing factories while examining the emotional trauma of trench warfare, familial estrangement, racism, and cultural isolation.

Delun’s journey is historically fascinating, and I admire how it illustrates the experiences of his real-life counterparts. I also appreciate how his relationships with characters like Miss Lu, Marguerite, and Boss Cai fleshed out and layered the narrative. The story weakens in the final chapters when it shifts in favor of Anne’s comparatively underdeveloped storyline, but I still enjoyed the time I spent with Souls Left Behind and would have no trouble recommending it to readers looking for fresh and untapped perspectives.

Book Review: Fools Crow by James Welch

 About the Book: 

Fools Crow by James Welch

In the Two Medicine Territory of Montana, the Lone Eaters, a small band of Blackfeet Indians, are living their immemorial life. The men hunt and mount the occasional horse-taking raid or war party against the enemy Crow. The women tan the hides, sew the beadwork, and raise the children. But the year is 1870, and the whites are moving into their land. Fools Crow, a young warrior and medicine man, has seen the future and knows that the newcomers will punish resistance with swift retribution.

The story is a powerful portrait of a fading way of life. The story culminates with the historic Marias Massacre of 1870, in which the U.S. Cavalry mistakenly killed a friendly band of Blackfeet, consisting mostly of non-combatants.

"A major contribution to Native American literature." - Wallace Stegner.

Published 1986 ✧ James Welch ✧ Penguin Books ✧ Library Loan

Thoughts and Reflections: 

The Eagle by Roland W. Reed

In November 2024, Florida made national headlines for removing hundreds of titles from their school libraries. The official list is thirty-five pages long, and while browsing its entries broke my heart, it also inspired me to bump a banned title to the top of my TBR.

James Welch’s Fools Crow is not on the Florida list, but it has been challenged four times in Montana. Campaigns to remove the book from schools in Bozeman and Helena failed, but the effort to eradicate it from Laurel’s school curriculum passed over complaints related to its depiction of rape, mutilation, and violence. 
 
My opinion on the matter is best expressed in the author who, when asked for comment in 2000, stated he felt the book was under attack for its authenticity. Fools Crow relies heavily on the oral traditions, culture, and spirituality of the Piegan Blackfeet, but its inclusion of brutality is rooted in a rejection of romantic stereotypes and a desire to candidly illustrate Native American experiences. Its descriptions are not gratuitous and relate directly to the themes and historical context of the narrative. 

I admit I was unfamiliar with the Native American mythos referenced in Fools Crow, but that didn't prevent me from appreciating how Welch used it to illustrate the power of dreams, and the sacred connection the Pikuni feel to the natural world. I also liked how this element of the novel acknowledged tribal storytelling traditions. 

My only criticism of this theme-heavy fiction is that the intricate layering of motifs comes at the expense of complex character development. Shallow arcs undermine the impact of Fast Horse, Yellow Kidney, and Owl Child, but feeble exploration of Red Paint and Heavy Shield Woman highlights a wealth of untapped potential in the fabric of Fools Crow.  

Book Review: Nothing Proved by Janet Wertman

  About the Book: 

Nothing Proved by Janet Wertman

A compelling period piece which brings to life the early days of one of history’s greatest monarchs” - Kirkus Reviews 

Danger lined her path, but destiny led her to glory... 

Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal. 

After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which puts her in mortal danger when her half-sister Mary becomes Queen and imposes Catholicism on a reluctant land. Elizabeth escapes execution, clawing her way from a Tower cell to exoneration. But even a semblance of favor comes with attempts to exclude her from the throne or steal her rights to it through a forced marriage 

Elizabeth must outwit her enemies time and again to prove herself worthy of power. The making of one of history’s most iconic monarchs is a gripping tale of survival, fortune, and triumph.

Published 2025 ✧ Janet Wertman ✧ ARC

Thoughts and Reflections: 

Janet Wertman's Nothing Proved is a biographical fiction and the first installment of the Regina series. The novel chronicles the decade before Elizabeth I ascended the Tudor throne and explores the events and experiences that shaped her character and the landscape of her court. 

Thinking this has been done before? If so, I don't blame you; Gloriana has inspired novelists for ages, but the comparisons end there. Wertman's subtly nuanced portrait of Anne's daughter is unlike any I've read before. She writes Elizabeth as an astute and passionate young woman, but she balances the princess's strengths with a vulnerability that emphasizes her unlikely rise and complex personal convictions. 

Wertman's treatment of William Cecil is also noteworthy. The statesman will become an indispensable member of Elizabeth's court, and I liked how this novel explores the foundations of their political relationship. His half of the story feels a little open-ended compared to Elizabeth's, but I'm excited to see where the author takes his arc as the series progresses. 

Highly recommended. 

Marginalia: Bought It & Forgot It

Remember when I said I planned to return to book blogging with intention? That had more than one meaning. I hope that sharing my thoughts will reconnect me to other readers, but I also want to organize my library and explore the titles I have never cracked open.

At some point, every title on my shelves inspired enough curiosity for me to bring it home. Somewhere along the way, however, many of my acquisitions were lost in the stacks. My shelves and the Jenga-style towers adjacent to them are a tottering testament to my enthusiasm for the written word and my addiction to historical fiction in particular. Simply put, it's time to do something about it. 

I won't lie—my determination is tinged with guilt. I don't know how many volumes I own and can't say how many are unread, but I know it's a privilege to have so many stories at my fingertips, and it feels downright wasteful to let them sit unopened, gathering dust. 

Welcome, friends, to Bought It & Forgot It, a reading challenge designed to encourage reading the books I own while confronting my addiction to fiction head-on.

I don't have a lot of rules for this challenge beyond not adding to the hoard. I will provide regular updates on my progress and hope to post reviews as I move through the stacks. 

Here's to the journey! 

Marginalia: Overdue

I didn’t plan to stop reviewing books; it just happened. 

At first, it was a little break, permission to read without analyzing every plot point, to form opinions that didn’t have to be hammered into coherence, to decline the grueling cadence of promotional campaigns. I told myself it was just until work slowed down and life became less hectic; I’d carve out the time after we moved or finished the next house project, but it soon became evident that I wasn’t just taking a step back; I had entirely checked out.

Stepping back into this space is an intimidating prospect. Book blogging, the kind I used to love, is quieter now. The format has been overshadowed by flashy social media trends, aesthetic reels, and condensed promotional content on platforms I don’t have the energy to navigate. There’s pressure to be not just a reviewer but an entertainer, a curator, and a brand. 

The realities of this landscape make me hesitant to put myself out there and have me second-guessing my relevance in this space. I know I won’t be the most polished voice in the book world, I don’t expect my reviews to go viral, and I know it will be hard to find community without jumping on the new release bandwagon. Still, I miss talking about books and connecting with readers who share my love of historical fiction. And so, despite my inhibitions, I’m starting again. 

Slowly, imperfectly, but with intention.