Blossoms Fade

Blossoms Fade is a novel by the Hong Kong writer Yi Shu, first published in 1987 and set in modern Hong Kong, telling a love story repeatedly entangled by old wounds. The heroine, Wang Yunna, once fell into an extramarital affair with Teng Haiqi; love turned to hate, and in a violent conflict they hurt each other, after which she left for the United States bearing her trauma. Seven years later Wang Yunna returns to Hong Kong and meets Zuo Wensi, who is making a name for himself in the fashion world; the two are kindred spirits and seem on the verge of marriage. But fate turns up old accounts: Zuo Wensi's brother-in-law is none other than Teng Haiqi, the man who once left her scarred, and Teng Haiqi has not truly let her go. He forces Wang Yunna to leave Zuo Wensi on condition that he repay the Wang family's enormous debts; a deeper truth then comes to light, that a relationship of control exists between Zuo Wensi and Teng Haiqi, and Wang Yunna is also blackmailed with private images. Disheartened, she decides to leave Hong Kong again, when news arrives that Teng Haiqi has been killed; Zuo Wensi is imprisoned as a result, and the two lovers are ultimately unable to be together, leaving the novel with a rueful ending. The title comes from the line "when the roseleaf raspberry blooms, the flower season is over," using the roseleaf raspberry blooming to its end to symbolize the peak and decline and the utter conclusion of a relationship. Yi Shu writes of the calculations and obsessions of urban men and women in a clean, crisp style, with memorable lines throughout, cool and lucid.