Beginning ~ with a beginning

Under Fishbone Clouds ~ by Sam Meekings, 2009, fiction (China)

Beginnings are always difficult, especially when you have lived as long as I have.

I've lived a long time, so I wonder if the character thinking that first sentence is older than I am (I'm 73).  It's intriguing enough to keep reading.  I picked up this book because my friend Jane is reading it and thinks I'd like it, too.  It's about a young Chinese couple during the time of Mao's Cultural Revolution.  In other words, it's a "glimpse into the birth of modern China," according to the book's description.  So far, I'm most curious about the choice of years for the thirteen chapters, named after the twelve Chinese years ~ plus one extra year tagged onto the end.

1946 ~ The Year of the Dog
1942 ~ The Year of the Horse
1944 ~ The Year of the Monkey
1947 ~ The Year of the Pig
1949 ~ The Year of the Ox
1951 ~ The Year of the Rabbit
1960 ~ The Year of the Rat
1967 ~ The Year of the Sheep
1974 ~ The Year of the Tiger
1977 ~ The Year of the Snake
1981 ~ The Year of the Rooster
2000 ~ The Year of the Dragon
The Year of the Cat

All twelve Chinese years are named, but not in order.  I was born in 1940, before this list starts.  That was the Year of the Dragon, which comes around every twelve years (as they all do, of course).  What Chinese year were you born?

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.