Translated by Michael S Duke
In is the 1930s in China and Lotus, a young college student, is forced by her father's death to give up her studies and marry into wealth.
'Raise the Red Lantern's is her hauntingly beautiful, nightmarish tale, as she grapples with the daily injustices of yielding to the demands of a husband she doesn't love. It explores a world where relationships rarely reach fruition, as emotionally stunted men thoughtlessly destroy the women in their lives, and the women turn on each other in their frustration. But Lotus is defiant and presumptuous and has the shocking audacity to be good - and actually enjoy - sex. Insanity begins to emerge as both a weapon and a refuge as the claustrophic tensions of the rural clan house reach breaking point . . .
