The Dragon's Tail    1. The Dragon's Tail   2. by Adam Williams
Taking us from the rise of communism, through Mao's cultural
revolution, to the clash of ideologies in Tiananmen Square, The
Dragon's Tail is an epic sprawl. It's 1940 and Harry Airton, son
of a Scottish expat, and Chen Tao, son of Harry's cook, enter
into a boyhood blood-brother pact, little thinking their
destinies will thenceforth be inextricably linked. With the
onset of war, Harry is sent home and, years later, is enlisted
by a suave secret service official, who sees him as the ideal
candidate to infiltrate Chinese intelligence. Once in Beijing,
Harry is introduced, via Chen Tao, to Peng Ziwei. Against their
better judgment (the circumstances are unpropitious) the two
fall in love, but disaster ensues. Harry is exiled from China in
disgrace while Peng Ziwei is sent to a prison camp. Meticulously
recreating the past, Williams's exploration of the effect of the
cultural revolution on the Chinese psyche is gripping stuff.
While the love story