Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin

The Map of Betrayal is an engaging novel about espionage, family and loyalty. Intertwining the stories of a father and daughter the story begins with the beginning of Mao’s regime and continues to look at modern China through the lens of a spy or patriot depending on one’s perspective.

Lillian Shang is an academic woman in her fifties who is given the diaries of her long deceased father by his aging mistress.  Lillian was a young teen when her father was tried and convicted of spying on the United States for China. The diary provides her with her father’s deep secrets and a clue to the motivations for his actions.  Armed with these revelations, Lillian journeys to China try to discover her father’s past and find his first wife and family. While lecturing at the University of Beijing, Lillian must also conceal her quest for truth in the restrictive political environment of modern China.

As Lillian retraces her father’s journey, she meets the family her father never knew he had but for whom he sacrificed his personal happiness.  Unfortunately, she learns her father’s first wife passed away.  According to her half sister, their mother never received the money and prestige that Gary was promised for his work.  Lillian navigates the secrecy of the Chinese government while trying to understand the truth beyond Gary’s legacy as patriot.

Lillian returns from China and reconnects with her half-nephew.  She now recognizes his suspicious activities as participating in the “family business”. She engages him in dialogue to try to understand why he is willing to put his country above his own personal freedom and safety. It may be a new millennium, but the personal and political conflicts have not changed so much. What motivates a person to make this sort of sacrifice? The answer is not black or white, which makes for an interesting reading.