The Girl Who Played Go
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As the Japanese military invades 1930s Manchuria, a young girl approaches her own sexual coming of age. Drawn into a complex triangle with two boys, she distracts herself from the onslaught of adulthood by playing the game of go with strangers in a public square--and yet the force of desire, like the occupation, proves inevitable. Unbeknownst to the girl who plays go, her most worthy and frequent opponent is a Japanese soldier in disguise. Captivated by her beauty as much as by her bold, unpredictable approach to the strategy game, the soldier finds his loyalties challenged. Is there room on the path to war for that most revolutionary of acts: falling in love?
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There is a lot going on under the surface of this novel that I know I missed, because I don't know anything about the game of go or Chinese and Japanese history and literature. Themes of violence, battle and war, honor, and the constricted lives of women are present in this story of a Japanese soldier and a young Chinese girl meeting in a Manchurian town over a game of go. Although the book is almost 300 pages, chapters are short, spare and quick to read. I finished it in 2 days. This solemn story will stay with me for a while.
