This novel centres around the insular and narcissistic world of Nikki or Coco, as she wants to be known, for Coco Chanel. Coco is a brashly unconventional young Chinese woman who wants to be a writer. The city of Shanghai is presented almost as if it were a major character. It is every bit as full of contrasts as the assembly of human characters – East and West, full of local charm and yet greedily receptive to global influences. She gives up her promising career as a journalist to pursue her dream of being a writer.
To the mortification of her parents, she moves in with an aimless, sensitive young man, Tian Tian. Tian Tian is devoted to her, and in him, she finds her lovey buddy. However, he is unable to provide her with what she wants physically. He becomes addicted to morphine and she saves him by committing him into a rehabilitation center. She meets and has an affair with Mark, a married German man working in Shanghai, who is the opposite of Tian Tian. He provides her with the physical satisfaction she needs but is mentally crude. When Tian Tian finds out, he relapses into self-destruction. | ||
Plot & Themes Love Triangles/Polygons Yes What kind: Inner struggle subplot Yes If one lover chases another... - Disability or addiction? - drugs Main Male Character Profession/status: Age/status: - 20's-30's If he's not white he must be... - oriental Unusual characteristics? Main Female Character Age/status: - 20's-30's Profession/status: If she's not white she must be... - oriental Setting Asia/Pacific Yes Asian country: - China Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death What % of story is romance related? - nearly 100% Focus of story - Her How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |