Around a year ago I stumbled across the YouTube channel of Xiran Jay Zhao. They make great videos regarding Chinese history, the cultural authenticity of movies and tv shows and lately, fashion. After watching several of their videos and loving them, I just had to buy their book, Iron Widow. It has been marketed as Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale with Chinese history mixed in. I have not seen Pacific Rim but I have seen The Handmaid’s Tale which the book definitely reminded me of, though the setting was completely different. If this intro peaked your interest and you’re wondering whether you should buy Iron Widow, keep reading. I will try to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible, but if there are any spoilers, I will add a warning beforehand. Trigger warning: sexual violence, violence and misogyny.
Iron Widow tells the story of Zetian, who is by the way loosely based on Wu Zetian, the only female emperor of China (Xiran has a video on her, go check it out!). She lives in Huaxia, a highly patriarchal society that is kind of like ancient China made futuristic. The society is constantly attacked by mysterious creatures called Hunduns. To defend themselves, the people of Huaxia have invented Chrysalises, giant robots that are piloted using qi, one’s life force. One Chrysalis is piloted by two people, one man and one woman. However, the men are really the ones doing the piloting and women are only there so that their qi can be used to make the Chrysalis more powerful. This usually leads to the woman’s death by the end of a fight which is okay because women’s lives are not thought of as being very valuable.
Zetian’s big sister is sent to serve one of the most powerful pilots of Huaxia, but he ends up raping and killing her before they even get to a Chrysalis. No one bats an eye because she was a woman and besides of low birth, but Zetian swears she’ll avenge her sister. So, she volunteers as a concubine-pilot for the murdered. When she gets to a Chrysalis with him, something unheard of happens: Zetian ceases control of the Chrysalis, killing the male pilot in the process. This should not be possible since women’s qi pressure or mental strength is almost without exception weaker than that of male pilots. However, somehow, it does happen.
This book deals with some pretty heavy themes so if you like lighter books, this one may not be for you. However, all the themes are also extremely important. Though Huaxia is a fictitious place, many of the topics Xiran presents can be traced back to real life. Though sexism and misogyny seldom present themselves as blatantly in real life as they do in the book (though that depends on where in the world you are), they are very much present in all societies. When Zetian critiques the pilot system and disregard for women’s life in Huaxia, that is really Xiran critiquing our very real societies in the modern day for their sexism.
Zetian has two love interests in the book: Yizhi and Li Shimin. At first I thought that their relationship was going to be tragic since inevitably Zetian would have to choose one of them and leave one behind. After all, that is what happens in literally every story where a woman has more than one love interest. (Spoilers ahead!) However, Yizhi and Shimin end up falling in love with each other and for a little while they are a happy triad… That is, until Shimin dies. I really did not expect them all to end up together since relationships with more than 2 people are just something you never see in the media. When they did, however, I was super happy that polyamorous relationships finally got some representation. And all three main characters are LGBT+, too! More of this, please! (Spoilers end!)
Iron Widow also explores gender in an interesting way. Zetian contemplates her role as a woman and what womanhood means to her on several occasions. The label of woman has been given to her from the outside and it defines her status in society but does little more. In the end, I am not even sure Zetian is a woman but she isn’t really given any other choice but to present herself as one. Zetian is an interesting character otherwise as well. She is definitely very strong and decisive to the point where it becomes morally questionable. Tearing down oppressive structures is important and necessary, but Zetian’s journey definitely makes the reader question how far it is acceptable to go to achieve these goals.
All in all Xiran does a great job in making visible the hidden barriers that hinder women from success in society. Iron Widow is a beautifully written, thought-provoking piece that not only entertains but also critiques society’s oppressive structures. I would definitely recommend reading the book as well as checking out Xiran’s channel!