by Fiori Picco

Review by Maria Teresa De Donato

With her new novel entitled Il tempo del riso glutinoso (= The Time of Glutinous Rice)  (Picco, 2024, Fiori D’Asia Editrice), Fiori Picco, Author, Literary Translator, Editor, and Sinologist, conquers the hearts of all of us by transporting us once again to her beloved Yunnan and, more precisely, to the village of Shanjiao, among the Kam community that has lived in this remote area on the border between the provinces of Hunan and Guizhou for millennia.

As in her novels – Giada Rossa – Una vita per la libertà (= Red Jade – A Life for Freedom), Yao, and Il Circolo delle Donne Farfalla – Mugao e Bhaktu (= The Butterfly Women’s Circle – Mugao and Bhaktu), two aspects also characterize this publication:

• The figure of the woman and her suffering and

• The theme of ethnic groups

However, if the previous novels constitute real reportages, The Time of Glutinous Rice takes on more the tones of an introspective journey. The Ego and the Self scrutinize each other and compare themselves. The Mind, through Reason, tries to make sense of what the Heart initially does not accept. The Heart, in turn, is divided on what to do and, if on the one hand, it rebels against what it feels as an imposition, on the other, it wants to make its loved ones happy, not disappoint them, and, above all, not undermine the serenity and balance of the family.

The result is an internal revolt characterized by a whirlwind of contrasting thoughts, emotions, and sensations in constant conflict.

Who are we? Where are we going, and where do we wish to go? Are we the architects of our destiny, or should others decide our future and, perhaps, our happiness? Giving up on our ambitions, on the realization of our dreams, and indulging in the wishes of our family so as not to disappoint them because “in Kam society, responsibilities come first” (Picco, 2024, p. 11) seems to be a sword of Damocles hanging over one’s head and from which it will be very difficult if not impossible to free oneself.

The stakes are very high. So what to do next? Rebel by continuing to cultivate one’s talents and pursue one’s dreams, such as that of becoming a “trilingual architect designer and one day landing abroad, preferably in Italy” (p. 15) after graduating with full marks from the Faculty of Garden and Landscape Design of the Yunnan Normal University, in Kunming, a choice also inspired by the Italian professor of European culture and Garden Design, or accept and make one’s own the teaching of mom Beili according to which “It is not a given that life always goes the way we want. There are certain things we can make ourselves like with time.”? (p. 15). And so, while our Heart is broken and, torn apart wonders what to do next, Life itself, without our knowledge, paves the way, and prepares the path that will lead us to Understanding, to full Awareness of our ethnic identity, to acceptance and, finally, to cover what will prove to be our true “calling.”

Becoming the mayor of Shanjiao should make one proud. Being “the most authoritative and respected woman in the place” in “a matriarchal society called ‘the Kingdom of Daughters'” where women hold power is the dream of all girls of the Kam ethnic group (p.11), even if this privilege is reserved only for women with degrees. However, Life will see in Niangmei, nicknamed “Myrtle” by the Italian teacher, a cultured and intelligent girl from Kunming, the most suitable person to lead the village of Shanjiao, to become one of the “messengers of the great ancestors” (p. 269) and of the “new heirs of the intangible cultural heritage of the Kam ethnic group” (pp. 254, 255) appointed as such by the district government itself.

Despite her young age and inexperience, Myrtle will demonstrate that she has the ability, also thanks to the advice of her parents, her aunt Wu, the former mayor of Shanjiao, the one who will become her friend Yilan, and other characters as fascinating as they are mysterious, including Grandma Pan and Rong Rong, to be up to the task. Carrying out her role as mayor excellently, she will succeed, with difficulty, in developing her village through a series of initiatives aimed at reclaiming the environment and increasing craftsmanship, trade, and tourism, thanks also to the targeted use of the internet.

In doing so, she will demonstrate, without a shadow of a doubt, that she is the worthy earthly representative and heir of the Great Grandma Sama, Goddess of the place.

The glutinous rice, mentioned several times in the text and used in various recipes traditionally prepared and consumed by the Kam community, is the metaphor of an invisible hourglass that, at regular intervals, expires the slow and incessant passage of time, marking its rhythm.

Cultural, culinary, and religious traditions, deeply rooted millenary beliefs, detailed descriptions of customs and habits, dishes, clothing, ceremonial rituals, family secrets, and more, old disagreements existing between members of the community for the most varied reasons are masterfully described by the skilled pen of Fiori Picco.

The result is a highly suggestive picture that drags the reader into an atmosphere and a time that to us, Westerners, seems light-years away and that, for this very reason, intrigues and fascinates, making us vibrate in a real and, at the same time, mystical dimension.  Colors, flavors, sounds, voices, songs, as well as buildings and statues that seem to observe passers-by, as well as readers, blend into a Whole as varied as it is harmonious that transports us to an ‘other’ World in which myths and legends, as well as fantasy and reality, continue to dance incessantly.

The Time of Glutinous Rice is a book rich in details that will fascinate the readers, allowing them to continue their spiritual journey in Yunnan and to familiarize themselves this time with the Kam ethnic group and its matriarchal society.

I recommend reading it to everyone, especially lovers of foreign cultures.