"I loved this book. Its rapid and powerful pace, beautiful writing and strange plot shocked me. It reminded me of the novels of Borges or Calvino. But Hu is history - history told with outstanding and vivid writing by one of the masters of contemporary English prose." - Mark Strand
"In Hu Ruowang's Question, Jonathan Spence does what great historians always do - he treats scenes from the past as if they were the present. The scenes come alive, and the reader can't help but ask, what's next? One of his strengths is his free-flowing structure and lively, entertaining narrative that takes the reader on an unforgettable trip down memory lane into the 1720s; another is his masterful command of detail and sources. One can expect him to establish a style, and there will be humanist imitators, but imitation is not easy." - John King Fairbank
"Who? It's hard to say! [Translator's note: The English title of this book is The Question of Hu, which actually implies The Question of Who]." Spencer's brilliant narrative explores a realm where self, identity, personality, language and status all overlap. This is a brilliant work of prose in which the author constructs a style that fully expresses Hu's confusion about the incomprehensible West." - John Hollander