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Title: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress : A Novel by Dai Sijie, B.D. Wong ISBN: 0-7393-0101-2 Publisher: Random House Audio Pub. Date: 29 October, 2002 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.35 (128 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao
Comment: This book is a quick and beautiful read, detailing a brief span in the life of two Chinese youths who have been sent to a remote village to be "re-educated." The boys discover Western literature and the reader sees the almost magical effect it has on these two boys' lives and the no less profound effect it has on the object of their affections, the Little Seamstress.
The story is told almost entirely from the perspective of the unnamed narrator except for the pivotal moment in the story, which is told from the perspective of the multiple participants in the scene. The ending is a bit unexpected, but then again, given the liberating power of literature, it is not a total surprise that Little Seamstress undergoes a metamorphosis and leaves her cocoon. As heartbreaking as it is for the boys, if she had stayed where she was it would be almost like a betrayal to the liberating ideas she learned through Balzac.
Sijie blends humor, romance, and beauty together to create a book that is unforgettable and impossible to put down. It is lamentable how short-sighted and misguided China's "Cultural Revolution" was, and it is amazing that Sijie could spin this touching of a tale from that hard and unforgiving period. "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" is a must read.
Rating: 4
Summary: Honest, Thought-Provoking Tale of Another Time and Place
Comment: I have to admit I put off reading this book because I thought it would be too "heavy," but I found it to be a page-turner with real emotion and humor. It transports you to a completely different time -- China at the time of the "Cultural Revolution" where "intellectuals" were sent out to live with peasants to be "re-educated" -- and place -- the misty mountaintops near Tibet.
But the story is one that touches the humanity in us all...the close friendship that develops between the narrator and his friend, Luo (both teenage boys); a first love (with the "Little Chinese Seamstress,"; jealousy, hardship, solidarity, you name it.
It made me realize how special it is to have literature at our disposal...when you read how eager the boys were to get at Western literature, and revered it, when it was officially forbidden. And the ending makes one think, too, though I think most will find it unexpected.
A sweet, honest, timeless story, that should touch any reader.
- Julia Wilkinson, My Life at AOL
Rating: 4
Summary: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Comment: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. When I first started reading, I was a little apprehensive, but as soon at the stories of Luo and that narrator's lives came about, I was hooked. I learned so much about the Chinese Revolution that I had not previously studied in school. The friendship and the eagerness to read, in both of the boys, made the book that much more enjoyable. The comic relief also made the story very interesting. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone.
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Title: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ISBN: 0142001740 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Life of Pi by Yann Martel ISBN: 0156027321 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett ISBN: 0060934417 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Three Junes by JULIA GLASS ISBN: 0385721420 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 22 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Middlesex : A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides ISBN: 0312422156 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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