WU LOU

In Lu’s novel, a Buddhist monk flees Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in the 1970s and reappears in California decades later.

The story opens with the depiction of a gruesome death: Wu Huaiyu, a young Khmer Rouge officer, lies on the plaza of a small temple, his face flattened by the large fallen Buddha statue that he had been attempting to destroy. Watching the scene in horror are Tutu, a teenage girl who had recently become engaged to Wu Huaiyu, and Wu Lou, the temple’s last remaining monk. As a young boy, Wu Lou was rescued from a pond by an aging monk who saw potential in the lad and adopted him. One day, Wu Lou and his Master spotted a starving, orphaned child, Tutu, and took her under their protection. Tutu and Wu Lou were then raised as brother and sister, developing a deep bond. Now Tutu tells her brother that he must run and find his way to America to escape being killed by the military, promising, “I’ll find a way to go to the United States to find you.” The story jumps forward 50 years, to Los Angeles, where readers meet the novel’s narrator, Terry. He and his wife are immigrants from China, living in a house they bought through a Cambodian realtor—Tutu. Also living in Los Angeles, unbeknownst to Tutu, is Wu Lou. Lu’s narrative is more focused on the effect of Wu Lou’s life upon others (especially Tutu and Terry) than on his own experiences before reaching California (readers learn only about his time in Cambodia and his dedication to achieving a pure life). In easy-flowing, conversational prose, weaving a narrative that shifts back and forth in time, Lu intertwines the tales of Tutu and Terry with Terry’s musings on Buddhist philosophy and mysticism, including the belief in reincarnation. The novel also delves into the disturbing East Asian history during the 1960s and 1970s, vividly portraying the cruelty and violence inflicted by the Khmer Rouge.

Poignant and thoughtful, if not exactly riveting.