Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite

In The Envelopes, Hasu August draws back the veil on modern Chinese life. Jade Bai begins her career in the city as a nurse, but later trains in personnel. She is married to Deeping Dai, who lectures at the local university, and they share an apartment with his parents. Jade is unaware that her father-in-law holds a high office in a government ministry. She is proud, however, that the red envelopes regularly delivered to the door, a form of bribe, are refused as the family holds to its belief in high morals and ethics. Jade is shocked when she accompanies Taohua, their maid, on a trip back to her rural home. The stark contrast between the city and life in the countryside is astounding and an education. Then tragedy strikes. Jade’s mother-in-law dies, and not long after, Taohua’s eldest daughter dies while back home in the village. The company that employs Jade is failing due to fraud, and there is the conundrum of whether they join the new transactional business practices or maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Should they now accept bribes to keep the company afloat and the workers employed?

Author Hasu August tells a great and entertaining story of family life in China, between 2000 and 2012, both in the city and the rural areas. She highlights the differences in amenities, expectations, and the lack of education for the newly emerging population. It makes for a fascinating read. I could not put the book down. Hasu shows how a transitional society, racing toward world leadership, has growing pains, together with the new yearning to join the modern materialistic scramble. There are many tragedies, decisions to make, and the realization toward the end that not all was quite as it seemed. We are left with the question: if principles slow progress, is this better than morals that strangle modernization and upliftment? This is a book that makes you think while, at the same time, being both entertaining and informative.