Everyone would love to inherit a shoe empire - but no one would want the trouble that comes with it. The book "The Emperor of Shoes" by Spencer Wise discusses capitalism in China, and how running a shoe empire isn't for the faint-hearted.
To create a shoe is much like running a country - you need to decide what the most important part of the shoe (the foundation) is going to be made of, how to protect it (weathering the storms), and whether it would last in the long run. Walk, rinse, repeat, tweak - until you get it completely rain-proof, with no holes, and perfectly stitched... then maybe you've got something worth putting your foot in.
The Story
In the Emperor of Shoes, Alex Cohen is about to inherit the family's shoe empire from his dad, who was dubbed an "Emperor" a long time ago. Alex's dad may be an "emperor", and a ruthless one at that, but Alex is far from whatever he is. Having always led a life of dependence on his dad's decisiveness and direction, Alex is pretty much a sheltered college kid with no real working experience, not even in his dad's own shoe factory. Why has his dad kept him an arm's length from the running of the shoe factory? Alex doesn't question that. He doesn't question anything, and the readers start to wonder if they're going to get anywhere with this fluffy, narrow-minded character.
Yet things swiftly and abruptly change when 26 year old Alex does what hot-blooded young men can't help but do - Try to impress the prettiest lady in the shoe factory, just because. He falls slowly (but all at once, later #faultinourstars) in love with Ivy, an English-speaking Chinese seamstress who is one of many disgruntled workers in the shoe factory. She is mysterious and aloof. Alex doesn't think much of that, and assumes that it's a Chinese personality trait, but then his ignorance unfolds slowly the way love stories do. They open up to each other through the exchange of life stories.
Alex finds out that Ivy is a secret political organiser, and has been planning a revolution for quite some time. He is dumbfounded - "Of all things, a revolution? Why?".
Ivy gently shows him: It turns out you can tailor-make the perfect shoe, but it may still land in the wrong hands. The factory, the glorious picture of an Emperor wearing and producing beautiful shoes, hides a dark truth. And so much of it is swept under the carpet. So many of the workers live like ghosts, which Ivy insists, is the product of Capitalism with a capital C. She wants to fight for democracy for her people, and eventually, for her China. The shoe factory will be her first stop.
Now Alex finally understands his dad's mad mutterings; his constant repetition of the themed phrase "Keep costs low, earn a bigger margin". It was always at the expense of someone else - anyone else, except family. Alex doesn't adjust well to this at all. He'd rather close his eyes and work on the creation of shoes; what he's good at. But he can't un-see.
Ivy challenges him to take a good hard look at the way things are, and Alex wants to run, he really does.
Yet the indelible humanity-compass that lies deep within even the most unfeeling person... demands to be heard. What does Alex do? What happens to the shoe factory? What does he say to his dad's hard, traditional ways? What does he say... to himself?
Find out in "The Emperor of Shoes" by Spencer Wise.
This is Spencer Wise's first novel, published by No Exit Press. Read my bite-sized review in @curiousbookreviewer on Instagram :)
Comments