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Summary: Beautiful, educational story, quick read
Review: My mother passed this book on to me and told me it was a great quick read. She was right. I flew through the story on a cross-country flight and felt very satisfied after turning the final page. It's an interesting and beautifully written story about two boys sent to the Chinese countryside for reeducation in the 60s, so I not only learned from a personal perspective of the cultural revolution, but also enjoyed the prose and dynamics of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: sweet little book
Review: This is a quick book to read and pleasant. Avid readers will identify with the love the main characters have for books. The book also provides a glimpse into an interesting time and place. A good book; not a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not enough substance
Review: The author is a wonderful writer but I found the story itself weak. I liked the idea behind the plot, (anything to do with books), but it could have been developed better. It almost feels as though the writer wanted a novelette instead of a full-fledged novel.I came away feeling like the story was somewhat watered down. Don
Rating:
Summary: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Review: An enjoyable read but I think it must have lost something in translation because in my opinion it didn't flow well. Edcuational regarding the Cultural Revolution. It inspired a friend of mine to read more books on the subject and I lent her "Falling Leaves".
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Summary: A Tale of Irony
Review: The setting is China, under the rule of Chairman Mao, in the 70s during the Cultural Revolution. Two young boys are sent to a poor peasant village, Phoenix Mountain, where they are to be "re-educated". However, unexpectedly, here on this desolate mountain, enduring long laborious hours, the boys find the love of their life. Two loves actually, that intertwine and leave the boys changed forever. The two boys are given a task by the village headman to go into the neighboring village, watch a movie and then return to tell the story to the headman and the village people, "an oral cinema show". On their trek into the neighboring village, the boys meet the beautiful little seamstress. They also stop for a visit to their old friend, four-eyes, whom they have discovered has a suitcase of forbidden books. The two boys plot a way to obtain the books, and in succeeding, they free their mind and spirt from the harsh world of Phoenix Mountain and into the beautiful far-away world of authors like Balzac, Gaugin, and Dumas. The boys decide to bring the beauty and excitement of the books to the Little Seamstress. One of the boys, Luo, hopes to transform the Little Seamstress with the books from a simple peasant girl to an educated woman. Luo succeeds in this endeavor, however, not to his liking. Dai Sijie, a "re-educated" man himself, tells a wonderful story of survival, love and heartbreak all the while exposing an accurate picture of life during China's Cultural Revolution.
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Summary: Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao
Review: 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.
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Summary: Of words and images
Review: Words are powerful. And when they are combined to make a sentence, a novel, they become even more powerful. They can change lives, minds and hearts. Anyone who has found the joy of reading a book will be delighted with Dai Sijie's 'Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress'. After the cultural revolution in the comunist China, two friends are sent to a educational camp, where they are supposed to be re-educated, and probably forget all they have known. While they are there, both guys end up meeting a young seamstress whose thirst for knowledge and love for live is heartbreaking. They also come across Balzac. Not the writer himself, but his works and his books will change the trio's lives. Sijie is a moviemaker and as so has a peculiar eye for images. In the book not only are the ideas great, but also the images the evoque are perfectly beautiful. He can be funny while writing about such a dark period in China. His words are light, but not without consistence. the book is short but profund when it comes to show the importance of books in life. More than that the importance of freedom, the possibility of choosing, the right of expressing yourself. The writer has done a great work! By the way, he has made the book into a movie, and this one is certainly a must see.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpected Ending
Review: Bought the book purely for asthetic reasons. Such a pretty little book. Sorry to say, expected the read to be a bit better. The ending threw me and wasn't as I'd hoped. I guess it's true that reading (as education) can change a person - but not always in the way we would hope. Somehow, I am much disappointed in the Little Chinese Seamstress. In my mind, it isn't all about looks and beauty you see...... Fill me in readers, is there something I am missing here???????
Rating:
Summary: This book was just ok.
Review: This book was just alright. I have read other similar books about the Cultural Revolution that I liked more. I just didn't enjoy the writing style of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely but not filling
Review: I enjoyed this book. I found it poignant, well written and thought provoking. Unlike other reviewers on this site, I felt that the ending was the best part of this book. Great literature can trigger uncomfortable thoughts and actions. Without ruining too much, there was a book burning scene, which I found deeply unsettling as a lover of literature.
However, I believe that the author could have developed his characters better. In addition, I wished he had delved deeper into the literary exchanges between the two main characters and the seamstress.
If you are considering reading this book, I would say go ahead. It will not take you a lot of time. It will provoke some interesting thoughts. But it may not be the best or the greatest book you ever read in your lifetime-or even this year.
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