Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang review – a debut with real heart
This intricately plotted tale moves from a cruising spot for queer men in 1980s rural China to immigrant life in New York Jiaming Tang’s debut novel opens in China in the 1980s, at the Workers’ Cinema in rural Fuzhou, a cruising spot for queer men. The cinema is described as a magical, almost utopian place, and the language Tang uses contributes to this dreamy, soft-focus vision. The men come to the cinema, he writes, “looking for love”; in the semi-darkness of old war movies projected onscreen for 10 hours a day, “men loved and loved and loved”.Bao Mei, the woman who works as the cinema’s cleaner and ticket seller, also assumes the role of protector of the men’s safe space: she turns away policemen as well as the confused and sometimes grief-stricken women who come seeking their husbands. She’s been guided to the cinema by the ghost of her dead brother, Hen Bao, and it’s perhaps Hen Bao’s watchful spirit that keeps the cinema safe. Continue reading...
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings