After leaving town for a decade, Li Jiaqi returns to Jinan to care for her ailing grandfather. As she reunites with her childhood friend Cheng Gong, the duo discover how much they have in common and how they are unwittingly connected through their families’ pasts. Growing up in dysfunctional families with absent fathers, Jiaqi and Cheng Gong are both drawn to the tumultuous history of the Chinese Cultural Revolution that defines their grandparents’ generation. With a duo POV and lyrical prose, Zhang beautifully examines recent Chinese history with a unique voice and reconciles buried pasts with fresh perspectives.

Cocoon rests between hopeful and depressing. For a book that tackles the intricacies of history and how the pasts define us, intentional or not, I relish the disconcerting feeling after reading Cocoon. Grief and trauma are rarely resolved, and while they don’t represent the lives of those affected, the long-lasting effects are undeniable. As such, it is especially heartbreaking to witness how abandonment experienced by Jiaqi and Cheng Gong drives them to chase after ghosts of the past to the point of obsession. The insatiable want for the past also results in the duo’s inability to accept love in front of them.

The first half of Cocoon moves slower, and it takes some concentration to connect the dots between Jiaqi and Cheng Gong’s stories. The second half has a faster narration as the readers get close to revealing the mystery that occurred 50 years ago. Cocoon is a great companion read for A Map for the Missing as both books examine the aftermaths of the Cultural Revolution and its enduring consequences on family dynamics. At its core, Cocoon investigates our tendencies to repeat history and asks the readers, do we have the strength to break through past curses and find the courage to love again?

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.