An Excess Male is a 2017 Chinese-American dystopian fiction novel by Maggie Shen King, which follows the four-person perspective of members of a polyandrous blended family in an authoritarian communist future China. The book was listed as one of the "best science fiction and fantasy books to read in September" by The Washington Post, and received mixed to positive critical reviews, with critics noting the exploration of a staunch communist ideology in juxtaposition with individual liberty in the areas of LGBT rights, women's rights and rights for mentally disabled people.
Plot
An Excess Male is set in a near-future China ruled under authoritarian communism. There is an ongoing war between the People's Liberation Party and the Chinese Communist Party, and due to China's earlier One-Child Policy, female citizens are scarce and in high demand. They are often matched or auctioned off for a dowry, and polyamory has been sanctioned by the State. Wei-guo, A 44-year-old Chinese man who runs a training centre, is aided by his two fathers in the pursuit of a suitable female partner. They meet the enigmatic Wu Family for dinner, a peculiar group consisting of Hanh (a closeted gay man and the family patriarch), his brother Xiong-Xin (an obese man with autism who insists on being called "XX"), and May-Ling, the 22-year-old matriarch, who has an infant toddler named "BeiBei". Wei-guo immediately feels a connection with May-Ling, but he is frustrated when, after a planned date, May-Ling brings the disobedient, badly-behaved BeiBei with her, but he feigns support and May-Ling forms an even stronger liking to him. She harbours secrets of the two brothers who married her: Hanh is "Willfully Sterile" and will be reeducated and sterilized if discovered to be gay, as homosexuality and asexuality are viewed with disdain by the State; XX is a "Lost Boy" (neurodiverse) and will be branded mentally ill and institutionalized if this is discovered, despite his successful career and computer programming skills. May-Ling is unhappy in this relationship, finding scheduled sex with XX unpleasant and awkward, and disappointed that Hanh never wants to touch her. She also worries privately that BeiBei might suffer from ADHD and that the child might be sterilized as part of the State's eugenics standards. May-Ling grew up from infancy to be married off for a dowry to the benefit of her parents, who were both gambling addicts, something that she recalls painfully after playing a romantic virtual reality game with XX. Hanh has a tenuous relationship with professional marriage broker Hero, a paunchy, overtly effeminate man who, knowing Hahn's secret sexuality, pushes Wei-guo to marry into the Wu Family.