Description
Set amid the glittering social world of 1940s Shanghai, these five stories—culled from Eileen Chang’s early brilliance—turn intimacy into a battleground where desire, reputation, and power collide. At the center is the title novella, a tightly wound tale of romance and political mission in which a young woman is tasked with seducing a government official, only to discover that the line between performance and feeling is far more dangerous than any plan. Chang’s signature style—compressed, psychologically exacting, and rich with social detail—captures how people maneuver through manners, longing, and betrayal, often with devastatingly ambiguous outcomes. Across the collection, themes of love as strategy, the fragility of selfhood under public scrutiny, and the moral costs of manipulation unfold with the elegance of a blade.
Available Editions
paperback
Anchor
Published Sep 4, 2007
96 pages
ISBN: 9780307387448
Reviews
No ratings yet. Be the first!
No written reviews yet.
Details
First Published
1979
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang.