Trigger warning: mentions of suicide and war
Ann Liang, the author of New York Times bestselling novels such as If You Could See the Sun, This Time It’s Real, and I Hope This Doesn’t Find You, recently released her fourth stand-alone book, A Song to Drown Rivers. Unlike her previous works, which are young adult romance novels, her most recent release took a very different turn, being her first published book in the adult historical fantasy genre. She began writing this novel in 2022 with the idea of writing a tragic love story with similar vibes to the song “My Tears Ricochet” by Taylor Swift and historical Chinese dramas. Then, after two years of writing and many months of her fans waiting for the book’s release, A Song to Drown Rivers finally hit the shelves on October 1, 2024.
As the legend of Xishi inspired the novel’s premise, the book depicts the tale of two rivaling kingdoms: the Yue Kingdom and the Wu Kingdom. Xishi, originating from the Yue Kingdom, was renowned throughout her village for her captivating beauty. When she garners the attention of Fanli, Yue’s political and military advisor, he devises a plan that involves presenting Xishi as a concubine for Fuchai, the king of the Wu Kingdom. Using her beauty as a honed weapon, Xishi’s role would be to seduce the enemy king, debilitating their kingdom from the heart of it, all while acting as a spy for her own kingdom. As the fate of these two kingdoms becomes utterly reliant on Xishi herself, she quickly becomes tossed into a world of politics, war, nobility, and devastating tragedy.
The legend of Xishi
Those unfamiliar with the Four Beauties of Ancient China might wonder: who was Xishi, and why was she so significant in Chinese history? Her story took place during the fifth century B.C.E., amidst the war between the Wu Kingdom and the Yue Kingdom. Suffering a tragic defeat against the Wu Kingdom, Goujian, the king of the Yue Kingdom, chose to surrender and become enslaved to the Wu. This loss left the Yue Kingdom in ruins and poverty for many years until Goujian devised a plan to regain his state’s independence. The most important part of that plan involved Xishi and her immaculate beauty.
Xishi, a young woman from a small village, was said to be so beautiful that when she looked out over a pond of water to observe fish, the fish were so mesmerized that they forgot how to swim. For three years, she was trained by Goujian and his advisor, Fanli. Not only was she taught how to use her looks to her advantage, but she became a skilled dancer, a talented musician, and an impeccable artist, all while maintaining perfect etiquette. After she finished her training, she was immediately sent to the Wu Kingdom posing as one of King Fuchai’s concubines.
Upon meeting Xishi for the first time, Fuchai immediately became enthralled by her appearance. For twenty long years, Xishi distracted King Fuchai in many ways, and he succumbed by forgoing important state matters to spend as much time with her as possible. Meanwhile, Xishi reported back as much information as possible to the Yue Kingdom. Once the timing was finally right, Goujian launched his attack on the Wu.
After the defeat of the Wu Kingdom, Goujian finally reclaimed independence from the Yue Kingdom, and Fuchai killed himself out of humiliation. However, what happened to Xishi after her duties were relieved is unclear. In the earliest version of the legend, she was believed to have been in love with Fuchai and so decided to kill herself as well. In another version, she was secretly in love with Fanli and fled with him so they could live a peaceful life together. Nonetheless, Xishi’s story has been passed down for many generations, and many people remember her today for her unwavering courage and beauty, both inside and out.
My thoughts on the novel
First and foremost, I want to emphasize that this book is not a romance, and calling this book a simple romance story would likely discredit everything else that the book offers. If you want to read a cute, heartfelt romance book, I highly recommend you check out Ann Liang’s other published books, which are all young adult romance novels. While there are elements of romance in A Song to Drown Rivers, the novel explores themes of femininity, the consequences of war and vengeance, and the will of kings. It’s a very tragic story, and you will likely shed a few tears at certain points while reading.
While taking a lot of inspiration from the actual legend, Ann Liang made a few changes in her novel to divert from the actual story, the most notable of those differences being the story’s timeframe. That key difference worked really well for the book, and although the story in A Song to Drown Rivers took place over many years, I likely would have enjoyed the story much less if it had spanned multiple decades.
Another thing that I should mention is that, like Ann Liang’s previous novels, A Song to Drown Rivers is on the shorter side, being roughly 320 pages long. I prefer reading longer books, so I went into this book with the mindset that I would feel unsatisfied by the short length. However, that was not the case for me once I finished reading A Song to Drown Rivers. The length of A Song to Drown Rivers was perfect for its story; it wasn’t too short or long.
Of every character in the book, my favorite character was definitely Xishi herself. Going into the novel, I was skeptical about how Ann Liang would write an extremely beautiful character, such as Xishi, without emphasizing her outer appearance so much that it became redundant. However, she did a fantastic job writing Xishi, who displays courageous strength and elusive ruthlessness as a female spy. One of the things I love about her character is that she is proud of her beauty, using it to her advantage, yet she also feels used by others because of it. I think that is something that many women can relate to, which makes Xishi a very realistic character.
Also, did I mention how eloquently Ann Liang wrote A Song to Drown Rivers? The way that she wrote each intricate detail was so descriptive that it almost felt like I was experiencing the story myself, and many of her descriptions read like poetry. Some of my favorite lines in the book include:
- “The mind destroys; the heart devours.”
- “Love is a knife; it cuts both ways.”
- “When the hares have all been caught, the hunting dogs are cooked.”
As someone who considers herself an avid fan of Ann Liang’s books, I was more than eager to get my hands on her fourth published stand-alone novel as soon as it hit the shelves. Even though it was written quite differently from her previous books, her newest release exceeded my expectations in more ways than one. I can safely say that A Song to Drown Rivers is my favorite book written by Ann Liang, and it might even be my favorite book that I’ve read this year (so far). I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of The Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuang or The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, but in general, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a stand-alone novel with poetic writing and lovable characters. So, if you want a book recommendation from me, don’t hesitate to check out A Song to Drown Rivers!