Who am I?

What does define us? Quite philosophical indeed. Is it the number of friends we have, the crazy acts we commit, our sexuality, our hopes and dreams... Coco finds out, or does she?

Shanghai Baby by Wei Hui

Shanghai Baby tells about Coco, your modern day Shanghainese woman - smart, sexy, liberated. She lives together with her boyfriend Tian Tian, a moody artist who got addicted to drugs and is sexually challenged. While Coco loves Tian Tian very much, she holds a secret affair with Mark, a German expat, to satisfy her sexual cravings.

After her much celebrated collection of poems - Shriek of the Butterfly, Coco struggles to finish her novel, with much prodding from Tian Tian. She is quite popular in Shanghai for her liberal feminist thoughts, especially in Fudan U where she graduated.

Together with her friends Ah Dick, Madonna and cousin Zhu Sha, Coco goes about town, partying one night, flying to Shanghai on a whim and flirting with bisexuals and lesbians - a typical day like any other.

The book is not a page-turner if that's what you're looking for. But it catches your attention with its fresh liberal take on China - a nation once wrapped under a strict conventional culture. Sex, drugs, cheating - taboo issues which the novel openly explored. No surprise that the book was "banned and burned in China" according to the book's back cover.

Aside from the sexual descriptions in the novel (of Coco and Mark usually), one's sexuality was also covered. The novel contained characters who were gay, bisexuals and lesbians. An unforgettable scene was when Coco kissed Shamir, a lesbian while Mark watched from a distance.

Why Coco loves Tian Tian very much puzzles me. Perhaps it's the stability that Tian Tian offers. He's always there for her. Like Yin to Coco's Yang. But she couldn't leave Mark - with what he CAN offer her. Tian Tian is quite dependent on Coco. He must had an inkling that she was cheating on her since he kept telling her to not leave him...

The presenting page-turner here is, at the middle of the book, it is mentioned that "when Tian Tian was gone". You read on.

Yes, Tian Tian died in the end. Of overdose. And Mark went back to Germany. With that, Shanghai Baby's last words were "Who am I?"