Under The Hawthorn Tree by Ai Mi (Virago, £12.99) (From Gazette & Herald)

Under The Hawthorn Tree by Ai Mi (Virago, £12.99)

10:00am Wednesday 15th February 2012 in Books By Bill Spence

THIS book, set in China during the last two years of the cultural revolution, is a simple story of young love.

Jingqiu is an intelligent student who is sent to a village to work on a new educational project and stays with a local family.

One day she hears music coming from the geological unit and later meets the young man who moved her with his playing.

Known as Old Third, the young man from a wealthy family is doing research and both feel a spark between them; but it is not appropriate for them to fall in love, Jingqiu coming from a poor and questionable family and still being a student and being totally innocent.

This moving novel tells of their secret meetings and her discovery of love, sex and loss. Jingqiu reveals her thoughts and anxieties so that her child-like innocence is gradually peeled away to reveal a young woman who yearns for a future not controlled by the state.

Although this novel is not about the politics, Ai Mi depicts how they did affect the basic needs and quality of human life. It is beautifully written and I just hope they publish a version for teenagers who have to tackle the puzzling maze of growing up, just as Jingqiu did.