Title: My Three Human Lives
Author: Yank Shi
Publisher: Books Academy, LLC
ISBN: 978-1964929118
Pages: 388
Genre: Fantasy – History
Reviewed by: Subhrajit Saha
Hollywood Book Reviews
Fascinating, mesmerizing, and magical – these were the words which came to mind when I finished author Yank Shi’s fantasy-based historical fiction, My Three Human Lives. If you are a devotee of crafts by filmmakers like Hayao Miyazaki or Pete Doctor, then you should definitely give this novel a read. Su Mei, Gao Xiang and Shu Rui are the same person, born in three different eras, fully aware of the complexity of the situation and dealing with the reality accordingly. Spanning over a century, the story blends genres like fantasy, history, socio-politics, and human drama. From the start, the author’s narration perfectly hooks readers with an idea as intriguing as captivating Japanese anime or Pixar masterpieces. It is very common to read about a mother’s feelings or pain during childbirth. But have you ever imagined the feelings of the child? What might the child experience while nestled in the warmth of the mother’s womb? Here, Yank Shi excels, crafting an extraordinary narrative that captures the child’s silent journey from the familiar warmth to the unfamiliar vastness of life. The more the storyline progresses, the more it becomes interesting.
Su Mei, the narrator of the story, was born in 1900 AD, into a well-established elite family in Shanghai. She is married to Wu Ruchen and has a daughter named Wu Qiwen. In the second life, Su Mei was born as Gao Xiang, a man from the suburbs of Beijing. This time the narrator was born into a poor family with all the financial struggle and faced the devastating Chinese feminine of the 1960s. Gao Xiang was a party worker when the whole country was submerged under the red wave. Despite being a dedicated party worker, he did not forget the thick line between devotion and obsession. This made the character an interesting one. Gao was happily married with Yi Rong and a daughter. In the third life, the narrator was born as a literature enthusiast and married to Charles Dodge. The interesting fact lies in the connection between Charles and Philip Dodge. Charles is a descendant of Philip Dodge, who was one of the admirers of Su Mei. Su Mei, despite rejecting his proposal, felt a certain weakness toward him. Marrying Charles seems like the circle of life completing itself, even though it happened a century later. The most engrossing aspect of all this is how the author masterfully linked the timelines and interconnected the tracks, making the novel a spellbinding read. There are a few interesting tracks apart from this, like the track between Qi Leshan, Ouyang Yiping and Su Zheng, Ouyang Yiping. Along with that, interesting characters, like Liang Asan, Li Chunhua, etc. add some extra flavor to the colorful dish of Yank Shi.
In addition to jaw dropping plot, the backdrop, emotional quotient, and a few dilemmas made the novel even more engaging. The narration of a spine-chilling description of extremism and making the nation hell for people not interested in some particular ideology, and people eating meat from the dead inmates to satisfy their hunger during the feminine made the backdrop of the novel more authentic. Events like Gao Xiang meeting Wu Qien for the first time, Shu Rui revealing the truth to Wu Qiwen, bidding goodbye to Yi Rong, Shu Rui recognizing Charles as Philip Dodge’s descendant, and the karma faced by evils like Li Maotang, Qi Leshan, and Li Chunhua made the narration deeply personal, fostering a stronger attachment to the characters. It’s hard to capture the overwhelming reaction in words, making it a fitting tribute to My Three Human Lives. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of life’s complexities and the enduring quest for connection and meaning.