The Red Thread by Nicholas Jose (Hardie Grant Books)
In Chinese legend, the Red Thread, also known as the red thread of fate or red thread of destiny, is “an invisible thread said to tie together all those whose lives will intertwine”. It is similar to the Western idea of a soulmate. In Nicholas Jose’s The Red Thread, Jose takes a known legend from the past and blends it with present day romance in Shanghai.
Shen works at an auction house called Shanghai Art Auctions International. One of his regular suppliers has brought him some new items - a small figurine of a woman from the Ming Dynasty, a bowl with the mark of the Quianlong Emperor, and finally a book that was “bound traditionally in several loose stitchings that were sandwiched between red cloth boards and fastened with red silk ribbons, two on each side”.
It was the earliest printings of a book titled Six Chapters of a Floating Life, except the supplier only had four of the chapters in his possession. The supplier says the name of the writer is Shen Fu, written in the same character as Shen’s name. Shen feels the book drawing him in but it is to be put up for auction along with the other two items.
Shen takes the book home and starts to read it. On the day of the auction, when Lot No.41 comes up, the book by Shen-Fu, Shen decides then and there to withdraw the item from sale. It is also at the auction where he sees Ruth for the first time.
Ruth is an Australian artist who makes contemporary traditional Chinese paintings. She left invitations to her own show at a gallery. Shen and Shen’s co-worker Ricky go to the show although Shen is not really interested in contemporary art. He is more interested in reading Shen Fu’s account of his life.
At Ruth’s show, when he hears her say “When mosquitoes were humming around in summer, I transformed them in my imagination into a company of storks dancing in the air.”. These were the exact words that were written in Shen Fu’s Six Chapters of a Floating Life. The more Shen reads the book, he realizes that he and Ruth are living the life as described in the book.
Their lives become more complicated when Han, a beautiful woman, enters their lives. In Shen Fu’s book, Shen and his lover are also mesmerized by a woman who comes into their lives and turns things upside down. Shen begins to believe that the reason nobody has ever found the last two chapters is because he and Ruth are living the life that was written in the book.
The Red Thread is one of those stories that blends historical fact with fiction. Shen Fu was a writer in the Qing Dynasty and did write his autobiography and titled it Six Records of a Floating Life. It is also true that the last two chapters have never been found. Jose weaves a wonderful romance story of how strong the bond of true love can be. It makes you want to believe in fate and in finding your true soulmate. ~Ernie Hoyt