The Opium Queen

February 6, 2023
Journalist Paluch debuts with a detailed and compassionate portrait of Olive Yang (1927–2017), a “gender-queer opium kingpin of noble descent” in Kokang, “a strip of land nestled in mountainous gorges” along the Myanmar-China border. While covering a 2015 rebel uprising in Kokang, Paluch first heard about Olive, whose personal army, known as “Olive’s Boys,” was rumored to have been funded by the CIA in the 1950s and ’60s. Interviews with Yang family members reveal that Olive, the strong-willed second daughter of Kokang’s hereditary ruler, resisted traditional foot binding, was expelled from Catholic school, dressed like a man, loved women, and wore an artificial penis. In the early 1950s, she joined anti-communist forces in Kokang, earning a reputation as a Burmese Joan of Arc while sparring with local chieftains, the Chinese army, and rival family members for control of smuggling routes in the region. Paluch, whose investigation culminated in a sit-down with Olive shortly before her death, makes a persuasive case that the CIA was heavily involved in the opium trade, but her efforts to untangle Myanmar’s complex ethnic and political history are less successful. Still, it’s a jaw-dropping study of a lesser-known yet larger-than-life figure.

March 10, 2023

When investigative journalist Paluch worked as a reporter for a government-censored newspaper in Myanmar (formerly Burma), she learned of Jin Xiu "Olive" Yang, a near-mythical opium warlord. Many viewed Yang as a greedy, ruthless Golden Triangle gangster, whereas others were convinced she was a CIA conspirator who ran an anti-communist rebel army. The author spent years chasing Yang's true story, conducting interviews with some of Yang's relatives, business associates, (alleged) former lovers, a man who wrote a mostly fictional book about her, and with Yang herself, albeit briefly. The author uncovers many details: Yang used she/her pronouns but male honorifics, such as Uncle Olive; her family forced her to marry her cousin and bear a child; she left her husband and had women lovers; she used her influence as the member of a noble family to make her opium-trade fortune; and she helped negotiate a handshake-ceasefire in Kokang. Written in a somewhat disjointed style and perhaps not the easiest introduction for those with little knowledge of the region, this book will still likely appeal to biography fans. VERDICT This well-written, well-researched book portrays a central figure who never quite emerges from her shroud of legend.--Crystal Goldman

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2023
This quasi-memoir from Paluch, who began working in Rangoon for the Myanmar Times in 2009, also serves as a Burma/Myanmar history lesson crafted around the author's search for revered folk hero Olive Yang, aka ""Two-Gun Mulan,"" "Queen Commander," "Miss Hairy Legs," and "Uncle Olive." This woman warrior supposedly led armies and inspired rebellions, with her exploits celebrated in media accounts, books, songs, and even a couple of popular movies. Yang's heroism focused on the ever-changing power dynamics in Burma during the middle of the twentieth century, a period of constant unrest fueled by opium money and CIA funding. Working through false leads, unverifiable verbal testimony, and meetings with Yang's relatives, Paluch documents what she can, dismisses a bit more, and--while her narrative tends to meander--offers inside historical and social perspectives on Myanmar's recent past. Eventually, Paluch does meet the nonagenarian Olive for a few precious moments, only to have her whisked away again. Readers will appreciate this in-depth look at a specific slice of history and marvel over this enigmatic Opium Queen.

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