Lust, Caution
Eileen Chang · 1920–1995 · China / USA
Originally Se, Jie (Chinese) · translated by Julia Lovell
Why it matters
A student in occupied Shanghai is recruited into a plot to seduce and assassinate a collaborator, playing a role that asks her to actually feel the desire she's faking. Chang's diamond-hard novella of espionage and desire, honed over decades into a few devastating pages.
At a glance
crime & noirhistorical fiction
Difficulty 6/10fast pace56 pagesExtremely compressed, elliptical prose refined over decades of revision.
Where to go next
Eileen Chang · 1943Love in a Fallen CityLvl 5Medium pace
Wang Anyi · 1995The Song of Everlasting SorrowLvl 6Slow burn
Shen Congwen · 1934Border TownLvl 3Slow burn
Xiao Hong · 1935The Field of Life and DeathLvl 6Slow burn
Ding Ling · 1928Miss Sophie's DiaryLvl 4Fast paced
Pu Songling · 1766Strange Tales from a Chinese StudioLvl 5Fast paced