THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI by Jennifer Cody Epstein

I am not enough of an art lover to recognize the name of Chinese painter Pan Yuliang.  This fictionalized account of her life begins with her “adoption” by a brothel madam at the tender age of fourteen.  After a customs official secures her freedom, she battles starvation and misogyny to pursue her craft, but her real enemy is the stifling Chinese culture that frowns on artwork involving nudes.  In Yuliang’s case, many of her paintings are self-portraits, drawing even more prudish backlash.  This book does not pack a lot of punch, but the storyline proceeds at a decent pace, as we follow Yuliang’s gradual development from an illiterate and naïve girl to an outspoken and accomplished woman.  The author blends a bit of Chinese history into the storyline, especially when it helps illuminate the cultural sentiment of the time.  The author’s writing style is clear and not overly dramatic, but there are moments when I wondered if she was embellishing the storyline with too much emotional strife, especially with regard to the resistance of Yuliang’s husband to his wife’s chosen field of study.  In any case, Yuliang certainly negotiated more than her share of roadblocks in her lifetime, paving the way for women and artists in China and around the world.