Rating: 
Summary: More French Than Chinese
Review: There has been so much hype surrounding this book that I think I expected more. Maybe that's not fair to the book; I haven't decided yet. I do know that when I bought this book, I expected to be plunged into the world of Mao Tse-tung's China, not France, but "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" is about as French, in its attitude and outlook, as a book can get. This really shouldn't be surprising since the book's author, Dai Sijie, has lived in France for twenty years now."Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress," despite being very, very French in outlook, does take place
in the communist China of Mao Tse-tung. It concerns Mao's re-education plan for intellectuals and perceived "enemies" of the people. The book's opening scene is perhaps its very best. The unnamed narrator and a boy called Luo arrive at the mountain village where they are to be "reeducated." The narrator, who is playing a violin, immediately angers the peasant in charge of the camp, who then proceeds to tear the violin from the narrator's hands. Luo, however, saves the day (and the violin), when he grabs it and begins playing a piece called, he tells the peasant, "Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao." The peasant smiles, grateful that these two errant boys are learning their lesson so quickly! As we read on we find that Luo's father, a famous dentist, had spoken openly against Chairman Mao, something the narrator calls, "beyond belief, an unpardonable, insane crime...." The narrator's parents were almost as bad; they were doctors who had enjoyed a good reputation and income. Because of the "crimes" of their parents, both boys were deemed "tainted" and sent to be reeducated. Life in this mountainous village really isn't about reeducation, it's about subjecting oneself to Mao and the party. And, the more one needs to be reeducated, the harsher is his work. Luo and the narrator are given one of the worst (and most humiliating) jobs of all: carrying buckets of excrement to be emptied. They find almost nothing to nourish and sustain them in this harsh and unforgiving environment until they meet and become friends with the daughter of the local tailor...the Little Seamstress of the title (who is, sadly, never named). Enter Four-Eyes, a friend of Luo and the narrator who hails from their own home village. Four-Eyes, whose mother is a poet, has naturally become an "enemy" of the people. But Four-Eyes is also the keeper of a veritable treasure house of secrets in the camp. He has, hidden away in a old, leather suitcase, copies of Western books, the very books that "the people" have been expressly forbidden to read. When Four-Eyes shows his friends a volume of Balzac, magic happens and the lives of the boys take a 180 degree turn for the better. (It is very interesting to note that most of the books Four-Eyes has secreted in his suitcase have been written by French authors.) Luo, who has become enamoured of the Little Seamstress, attempts to both impress and "civilize" her by reading her Balzac. Let's just say that both Luo and the Little Seamstress enjoy success beyond their wildest dreams. The Little Seamstress feels "carried away in a dream," while Luo feels he is "falling headlong into a story of awakening desire, passion...love...all the subjects that had...been hidden...." While this book is quite lovely and definitely for adults (the subject matter is probably too sophisticated for most younger people), there is a very juvenile air to the story. The characters are, after all, juveniles themselves, mere adolescents. Sijie is primarily a filmmaker, so I suppose references to film are inevitable in the book, however, I found them tremendously off-putting, almost to the point of ruining the book's delicate and ephemeral qualities. Describing his characters, Sijie says one "could have walked straight out of a bad comic film." Another has "arms as thick as Sylvester Stallone's." Not what I expected in a book set in Mao's China. Luo's storytelling ability wins the boys the opportunity to visit the local movie theatre in a nearby town. After seeing the films, they stage "oral cinema shows" for the villagers. I would have liked the book far more had the references to cinema been left out. I felt they were unnecessary and definitely detracted from the book's charm. They are not badly written, though, and other readers may like them. This is a relatively short book and it is quite episodic rather than being a conventional novel. Its message (and it does seem to have a message) seems to be two-fold: literature is life-affirming and, be careful what you wish for, for you just might get it. While "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" wasn't one of my favorite books, it is entertaining and quite beautiful in spots. I think most people who read it will definitely enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Well crafted, but no tears
Review: I was engulfed by the time I reached the end of Page 1. It's a superb piece of storytelling: a style I'd characterize as "spare", but visually and emotionally rich. You can enjoy it on the level of a love story or kick up a notch to a historical novel. Even better, it feels like it must be autobiographical. I felt like I was there. So why not a fifth star? I was swept along with the tide and immersed in the verse, but my deepest emotions remained intact.
Rating: 
Summary: Balzac ('s books) and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Review: Sijie Dai's first novel is full of pleasant surprises. A funny, touching, and engaging story: two boys are among hundreds and thousands exiled to remote villages for re-education during the infamous Chinese Cultural Revolution under Mao Tze Tung. The narrator and his best friend, Luo, are accused of being sons of doctors. At the times of Cultural Revolution, doctors, engineers, and scholars are guilty of being corrupted by Western culture and ideas. Western arts and literature are subjects to governmental confiscation and burning. The narrator and Luo find themselves in the distant village on Phoenix Mountain carting buckets of excrement up and down precipitous hills and working in maize fields. They delight themselves in playing violin and spending time with the beautiful daughter of the local tailor. The boys' life at the re-education village takes a surprising turn as they discover a hidden suitcase of Western classics in Chinese translation owned by Four Eyes. For the first time in they lives the boys are exposed to the mystery of the outside world, especially the world of women, love, and sex as revealed to them by these Western writers day after day, page after page, book after book. The story is well written but somewhat short for development of the characters. Luo's passion to transform the seamstress into an urban girl by reading to her Western classics is understandable. The task however seems to be somewhat challenging. Dai has given us a fairy tale with political allegory. The ideas about how two boys exiled into some remote countryside for re-education ends up re-educating a mountain native the outside world simply seduces the reader and captures much attention. For those who experienced the infamous Cultural Revolution, the novel comes to dear to the heart. Sijie Dai has simply done an excellent job in elaborating such a bitter experience.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story, well told
Review: I picked up this book (I admit it) because of its wonderful package--a gorgeous jacket and a nice small size. I bought it because it looked like a good story; I wasn't disappointed. While commuting on Chicago's "L," I was transported into a small Chinese village and the lives of two boys during the Cultural Revolution. Semi-autobiographical, the story is well told by one of these two boys, who crafted his storytelling art as a way of staying sane during less-than-sane times. I have read other books about the Cultural Revolution, and this one differs in that it ony uses social, political, and historical issues as a backdrop against which the main story is told. This book would make a great gift!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Just SO SO
Review: With all of the buzz surrounding this book, I expected much more. It was fine but it wasn't great.
Rating:
Summary: Hunger for beauty
Review: This lovely little gem is written in the simple, almost childlike language of so many Chinese translations from other languages to English. How so much of humanity yearns for the beauty of literature, how courageous human beings can be to satisfy the need for learning, and, unfortunately, how sad that some can be exposed to this beauty and miss the point entirely! At times, I recalled Fahrenheit 451!
Rating:
Summary: An enchanting modern fairy tale with political undertones.
Review: I loved this book. I'm so glad I bought it this year, when it is still available in hardcover, because it's a keeper. I give lots of books away, but not this one. Captivating, concise and sweet. At first I was not sure I liked the ending, but it grew on me. Also inspired me to put a few classics on my reading list. A jewel. I only wish I could have my book signed by the author. Signed an avid reader addicted to modern fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: A very, very quick read. Well done, touching.
Rating:
Summary: Start this early in the day...
Review: Do yourself a favor and begin this book in the morning, for you won't be able to put it down. I loved it! The prose flowed (it's an amazing translation), the characters were beautiful, the setting was austere; I loved everything about this book. For those who don't like the ending: it's not an American novel. It's more French, so get over it. I had never read anything set during the Cultural Revolution, and I found it fascinating. I wonder if the author went to France because he read so many illicit French novels, or was it just coincidence? I teach World Literature, and I can't wait for my students to read it. They take their education for granted, and this novel will show them that there are places in the world where an unimpeded education is illegal. I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Very clever novel.
Review: This is a story about two teenage storytellers. The setting is Mao's Cultural Revolution. The main characters, two boys who were raised in the city, are sent to the country for "re-education" by peasants. While they toil over manual labor, they befriend Four-Eyes, who has a secret and forbidden hoard of Western books, translated into Chinese. They read one of the books, and cannot get enough of it. They retell the story to the Little Seamstress, who loves to hear stories told. The boys soon become the village storytellers, and are sent to the closest city to watch movies, so that they can come back to retell the stories. It is this storytelling and the boys' quest for outside influences that allows their spirit to withstand the grueling abuse of the re-education process. This book combines the history of the communist movement with the romance of a Little Seamstress to produce a wonderfully written (and translated) novel. It is fun to read, and not a long story.
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