In the present paper the personality, appearance and personal characteristics of one of the most popular fictional heroines Lydia Chin will be described. Lydia Chin is, first of all, a creation of a S.J. Rozan’s imagination. S.J. Rozan, being a popular and a gifted writer, has come up with entertaining and short-novel series that have immediately caught on and these series have been focused around Lydia Chin and Bill Smith. They are made in the genre of detective and explore many a problem pertaining to the modern society even despite their fictional background.
Sometimes the two characters – Lydia Chin and Bill Smith appear in S.J. Rozan’s books separately, sometimes they work in close collaboration. In this respect the personality of Bill Smith entirely different from his female colleague also sheds some light into Lydia Chin’s traits.
Actually, the two heroes are contrasted to each other: Bill in his forties has spent his whole life living alone. On the contrary, Lydia Chin stems from a community known as close-knit. Bill Smith is a rumpled cynic who is at times gripped by sentimentality. Lydia Chin, on the contrary, is a determined woman who does not give way to any sentiments and feelings.
Some facts from the lines of heroes are quite of interest. For example, Bill Smith has had a lot of adventures in his life. Once he is known to have disappeared during a hunting occasion. So is the life of Lydia Chin’s: it is unusual, adventurous and ever-changing.
Lydia Chin is a detective of Sino-American nationality. She is in her late twenties and her life being very much dedicated to her work, goes beyond these boundaries. Actually, it may be supposed that her character was molded in her Chinese family: she grew up in a Chinatown in New York. There everybody meddled with other’s business and as a child Lydia Chin was entirely controlled by her parents and her grandmother, thus having little freedom.
Lydia Chin does not have at first any experience in detective work but despite this fact she is hired by one of the most prestigious companies and also by the most respected individuals like Grandfather Gao to do the job. She embraces her task with an unusual sense of responsibility and thoroughness so it will not be an exaggeration to claim that she is a responsible and meticulous young woman and it is these qualities that, first, win her the job and then make her successful in it. Indeed, Lydia Chin pays a lot of attention to the slightest detail and this helps her to undo the most difficult cases.
Sometimes the cases the detective works at may appear all too easy but not for Lydia Chin: every case she takes up, she treats with utter consideration. And usually she is right in doing so for she will face many dangers and tricky moments which in a way are part of her job. For example, while she was initially supposed just to a do a little favor for grandfather Gao, namely to deliver to his late colleague’s grandson a gift, Lydia Chin found herself amidst the turbulent waters of an adventure: the grandson had been abducted.
The criminals who did the abduction start demanding the ransom from Lydia Chin and her colleague Bill Smith. And so do they – two ransoms are paid – one by Lydia Chin, the other by Bill Smith. However, the strangest thing of all is that the family of the kidnapped boy tries to freeze the detectives out and there is a real threat to their lives. Yet Lydia Chin manages to find a brilliant solution. Actually, she learns very quickly to all the intricacies of a detective profession and she never is afraid to take some risk. Thus, above all, Lydia Chin can be described as brave and daring.
There is also a romantic streak in S. J. Rozan’s books: in some of them feelings between Lydia Chin and Bill Smith develop: Bill Smith who as a bachelor has lived alone for sixteen years above a bar starts really admiring this beautiful and courageous young woman who is such a good partner for him in his detective job. On the other hand, Bill Smith’s feelings are reciprocated by Lydia Chin who is shown to be not incapable of love though she is quite pragmatic and singled minded.
The above stated facts do not allow her to be described just as a woman careerist. As a matter of fact, there is much more to Lydia Chin than just the career-driven attempt to find her way in life. She does detecting because she is entirely fond of it but not because she is after money or popularity. Besides, the close interconnection between the cases she does and her community can be found.
In other words, Lydia Chin deeply respects her community and proud of her background. In this sense of the word, she is patriotic and all passionate about her Sino-American roots. Furthermore, her personal knowledge of her community sometimes saves many cases for she can project the way her enemies act, and she is very well versed in their habits and ways of behavior.
References
Cohen, Gabriel (May 29, 2005). Snaring Her Muse in the Drift of the Hudson. New York Times.
