Adrift in the Ocean

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I occasionally heard people speak in fond remembrance of Eileen Chang.  As with writers such as Cao Xueqin and Lu Xun, she has had an enormous impact on the study of Chinese literature.  Chang however, left China in 1955 and never returned. 

In certain literary circles, the emulation of Chang's writing has faced debate given the politicized history of her background. But for readers, the object of consumption is rarely chosen simply based one genre of writing or another. Instead, it is based on personal tastes.