Publisher: Anchor
Publishing Date:October 29th, 1999
Genre: Adult Literarture
Pages: 184 pgs
ISBN: 9780385722209
Source: my local library
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Summary from Goodreads:
In this enchanting tale
about the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening, two
hapless city boys are exiled to a remote mountain village for
reeducation during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. There they meet
the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western
classics in Chinese translation. As they flirt with the seamstress and
secretly devour these banned works, they find transit from their grim
surroundings to worlds they never imagined.
My Review:
I
read this book for this month's book club. It is a book that my aunt
recommended and I can see why it is one of her favourite books. It is a
book about 2 young Chinese boys sent to live in the countryside during
the Cultural Revolution. These boys were seen to be too education and
that they could learn a lot from living in the country and going back to
the basics. While they are there, books are forbidden (even
illegal)and they are forced to work in a mountainous rural area of
China. While working here, they come across a girl, the little chinese
seamstress from the title.
I don't want to give too much of this book away, seeing as it is
less than 200 pages long. It was wonderfully written and I read this in
one sitting. I could not put this book down. I coudln't imagine
living in a society where learning and books are seen as something bad.
I loved the scenes where the two gentlemen were scheming to try to get
some books. It also loved how much passion the boys had for reading and
story telling. Even though books are illegal and even though they have
found a way to attain a book or two, they still use the fine art of
oral storytelling to pass along their passion. It goes to show you how
far someone is willing to go to do something they are passionate for.
Even in a remote village in the mountains, far away from the
universities and from books, the boys find a way to learn and read.
I can only imagine a life without books. I don't know what I would
do but I would like to think that I would perhaps begin make up my own
stories. This book is beautifully written and it has also peaked my
curiosity in a few subjects including the cultural revolution in China
and The Count of Monte Cristo (which is mentioned often in this story).
One thing I wish would have been different is the length of the
book. I would have loved to have been given a little more description
and facts. I would have loved to learn a little more about the time
frame and country the book took place in. I also found that the book
ended rather abruptly. Even though the ending was foreshadowed, I felt
like I wanted to know how the characters adapted after the ending. For
these reasons I give the book 3.5 stars out of 5.
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