Rating: 
Summary: AUTHORS NEVER DIE-TAKE BALZAC FOR EXAMPLE
Review: This 1st novel is one worth reading as it probably gives a good example of life during the cultural revolution that isn't quite as extreme as some other stories I have read. I rarely enjoy a translated book, but this translation from French worked well. The story is easy to read and, for me, the first half was more interesting than the second half.This story is just under 200 pages and has received acclaim from many professional critics; my opinion is just moderate.
Rating: 
Summary: an unbalanced book
Review: The author and his friend Luo are send to a remote village near Tibet during the Cultural Revolution. They have to work in the rice and cornfields and in a small coal mine. Luo is found to be an extremely good narrator so the 2 of them are send to movies in a nearby "city". Afterwards they can then narrate the story for the villagers. From another boy they get a book from Balzac, which opens their eyes for prose that is radically different from the revolutionary texts with which they were raised. When the boy goes back to his parents, they steal his suitcase full of Western books. In the meantime Luo has fallen in love with the daughter of the tailor, the Chinese seamstress. He sees it as his task to raise her cultural awareness by reading for her parts of the Western books. When Luo all of a sudden has return to his parents for 1 month, he asks his friend to look after the Chinese seamstress. The end of the story I cannot reveal, but I think it is quite unsatisfactory as is the whole book: the characters are paper-thin, the theme remains vague and there is not a lot of humor in the book, even though that is claimed. This is typically a book that sells because its topic is the Cultural Revolution. However, if you want to read about the Cultural Revolution you are much better off reading Jung Changs Wild Swans.
Rating: 
Summary: What a little gem!
Review: Aah, this is a real find. Here's a lovely story with haunting images that will stay with you. It's a story of oppression reminiscent of "Fahrenheit 451" but it also has some harrowing adventure. It is at once charming and startling as we are plunged into the horror of Mao's "re-education" plan for China. It's a love story, yes, but it's mostly about the love of words, the insatiable thirst for stories, entertainment, and escape of any kind, the enormous revolution your life can undertake when introduced to new ideas, old wisdom, and beautiful language. It's especially delightful for those of us who love Asian literature. This translation from the French is a bit awkward in places, but it still manages to transcend language barriers and relate the magic the author intended. Frankly, I was drawn to the book because the cover is so beautiful, and I love the small size. As a former designer of publications, I immediately appreciated the beauty of the package, including the truly lovely typeface. It's a complete experience. And nothing in the book is overdone. It's like dessert for the soul.
Rating: 
Summary: Honest, Thought-Provoking Tale of Another Time and Place
Review: 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:
Summary: Poetic
Review: This translation of Dai Sijie's novel can be poetic at times but, as is common with translated works, it can leave the reader questioning the cultural context of some passages or even sentences. The information about re-education was fascinating but left me wanting more. Sijie's original manuscript probably made more sense in its brevity, but this translation leaves the reader wondering about unfinished business. An excellent addition to a world literature reading list, though.
Rating:
Summary: A book that grows on a reader
Review: With each passing day I mentally revisit scenes from this spare novel. (Spare in length and style.) The premise--the children of Chinese professionals who have been designated "enemies of the state" during the Cultural Revolution are sent to be "re-educated" by peasants in remote villages--is immediately engaging. The chances for these youths to return to any semblance of their former lives are slim. The main characters in this story, the unnamed narrator and his close friend Luo, wind up sharing quarters in the same remote village on the side of a mountain and they find solace in their friendship and with their love and admiration for the beautiful daughter of the local tailor. They also discover and steal a cache of French novels, literature that has been forbidden by the anti-intellectual Red Guard. Nevertheless, they immerse themselves in the literature and the stories give them hope of better times and release from the hardships of their transplanted lives. The books are also seen by Luo as the means by which he may transform the Little Chinese Seamstress into a civilized, urbane woman. The complications of love and re-education drive the plot. Of course, re-education comes to mean more than what the powers behind the Cultural Revolution intend: it includes what the two boys learn about themselves and their neighbors and, ironically, the consequences of Luo's presumption that the seamstress will benefit from his civilizing instruction based upon the French literature. Dai Sijie's style is clean and simple. The novel is very much about story-telling, and the narrator, in retelling his experiences, provides the model for an effective narrative (without Western Post-Modern self-referential gimmickry). The character's are endearing and memorable, the settings are vivid, and the events are believable and very, very human. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Fine work from the heart. Well crafted.
Review: I hope the following review is read and appreciated by anyone considering the purchase of this book. It was loaned to me by a friend who knows my taste for well-written material and it did not disappoint. I loved reading this little book. And that's exactly what it is: a well-written, fine little book. Read it quickly and applaud yourself for doing so.
The titled seamstress is a secondary character in this story of two young men on their forced journey through Mao's reign in modern China. She is, however, pivotal to the plot and quite compelling. One doesn't need to know the basis of this historical Cultural Revolution to appreciate or understand the main characters' lust for "worldly" reading material because it is drawn out in a plain and understandable language for the readers of this fine work. Well done and I highly recommend.
From the author of "I'm Living Your Dream Life" and "The Things I Wish I'd Said," McKenna Publishing Group."
Rating:
Summary: Okay book
Review: Recently I've been lucky with my bestseller or recommended picks, having read Martel's LIFE OF PI and McCrae's CHILDREN'S CORNER. So when I got to BALZAC, I was somewhat disappointed. Loved the cover of the book, but what it has to do with anything is beyond me. The setting and writing is evocative and at times beautiful, but overall the story didn't go anywhere for me. Two boys in communist China under Mao are sent into the country for re-education. Several adventures and misfortunes later they find small things that make their life bearable, helped by a violin, illegal books, their storytelling abilities, and the little Chinese seamstress. I thought that it was an okay book, both historically and emotionally.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring novel
Review: I came across this novel when I was looking for a good reading book. My teacher recommended this book to me and I was glad I decided to read it. Usually, I find myself spacing out whenever I read anything other than Harry Potter, but I found that my mind never wandered when I was reading this novel. It's an easy read but insightful at the same time, which made me constantly focused.
Balzac becomes a light in the midst of shadows for the narrator and his friend, Luo, who are forced into a re-education program. They are sent deep into the mountains where books aren't allowed; however, they discover a stash of banned books. Among these books is one written by Balzac. These books become treasures to the two boys.
Luo and the narrator meet a young lady, a Chinese seamstress, whom they secretly admire and adore. She seems to bring the same value the books present to the boys: hope in a time of Cultural Revolution.
I enjoyed this novel most of all because it helped me realize the importance of knowledge in times of trouble. When I face obstacles in life, I'll look back on this novel knowing that there is hope in every situation.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: This clearly written novel is highly entertaining, enlightening, and instructive. Its story takes us to a remote area of China in the early 1970s during the time of the Cultural Revolution, where two "city" boys are cast away to be reeducated, Mao style, in a forlorn mountainous region by isolated villagers who know nothing of the modern world. The descriptions of this area are precise, as is the storytelling of the boys' plight. The narrative is simple and direct, echoing nineteenth-century Western literature. Both boys are enthralled with Western literature, much like kids today are taken with the latest video games, as the boys live out the nightmare of their capture as enemies of the revolution. Also woven into the book is their adolescent longing for love and sex and the joy of living, as they become friends with the beautiful daughter of the local hero, a tailor who travels like royalty from town to town, making clothes for the peasants.
I could not put this book down as its story drove me on from the first page to the last. I strongly recommend it as a fast, well-written, entertaining work for any reader interested in good literature.
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