It is only once she admits this feeling of guilt and self-hatred that she can begin to unravel it, learning the truth of why her mother miscarried and passed away, neither of which had anything to do with little Liur’s actions. The feelings she has harboured about being replaced she now projects onto Carola. Deep within her, she carries the secret guilt that it was her that caused her mother to fall, lose the baby and ultimately die. It is only revealed later on that Liur is struggling with her perception of reality. The writing in this section of the book is really vivid and Liur’s fear of Carola feels very real. Liur believes Carola will do anything to destroy Liur and become Carolo’s real daughter. While initially intrigued by her father’s new talent and his doll, Carola begins to come to life. While he has been away, he has learnt the craft of ventriloquism and has created a stage persona called Carolo. But Carola isn’t just a doll, she is his ventriloquist’s dummy. When Baba does finally return 5 years later, he brings with him a doll called Carola. Every so often, he sends a postcard to Liur which she cherishes, waiting for him to return. Instead of attending the training course, Baba goes travelling, starting in the USA and heading south through Latin America. To bring him out of it, Grandfather sends Baba to the USA on a training course, leaving solitary Liur at home with her grandparents. Baba is distraught and overcome with grief. She couldn’t see the daughter who was alive and in front of her eyes.”Ī while later, Mama becomes ill and dies. This section is so well-written I could really feel Liur’s despair: “ mind was so full of the son who had died. Then Mama has a miscarriage, Liur feels the threat has gone, but life doesn’t return to normal. But Ah Fen, the housekeeper, tells Liur: “When your little brother is born, no one will love you anymore.” In Liur’s mind, the terror of being replaced begins to grow and she begins to play up, trying to attract her parents’ attention. When Liur is four, Mama finally falls pregnant. I really felt for Liur as she is repeatedly told: “If only you were a boy!” But her parents are under pressure: her father to pursue a career in medicine he isn’t interested in and her mother to produce a son. The first years of her life are happy with time spent with her parents in the forest at the back of her house. The story tells of Liur who grows up living with her Mama, Baba and paternal grandparents.

Jackal and Wolf by Shen Shixi