3 posts tagged “china”
China A-Z by May-lee Chai and Winberg Chai
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 28-July 2008
Quickie review: Found this while browsing through the shelves at the NYPL. Seemed appropriate, considering that the Olympics are just around the corner, and also because I know that my cultural knowledge of China is actually pretty insubstantial. This book does a good job of surveying various aspects of Chinese history and (pop) culture, as well as inserting various tidbits that correct people's presumptions of this nation. Some of the entries do become repetitive after a while, but overall, it's a good starting point for someone with even a passing interest in China.
The Good Prince (Fables, vol. 10) by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham
Obtained: Forbidden Planet
Finished: 25-July 2008
Quickie review: I've been reading a lot more American comics this year than I ever have in my life. This is the series that first took hold and hasn't let go. This volume, which focuses on Flycatcher (aka the Frog Prince), is probably the first story arc in Fables that's more or less closed. I enjoyed this arc immensely, even though I could've done without the short chapter about the wolf cubs... I also wasn't crazy about the art change for that particular portion.
Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love by Lara Vapnyar
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 31-July 2008
Quickie review: A collection of short stories about Russians living in Brooklyn and their life situations involving food. Mikhail (the boyfriend) first found out about this, and you know that since I've now moved into Brooklyn, I had to read this book out of anthropological (or sociological) curiosity. The author was able to catch nuances of the Russian personality that I've seen for myself -- but not necessarily making excuses for them, which is cool.
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 28-July 2008
Quickie review: Found this while browsing through the shelves at the NYPL. Seemed appropriate, considering that the Olympics are just around the corner, and also because I know that my cultural knowledge of China is actually pretty insubstantial. This book does a good job of surveying various aspects of Chinese history and (pop) culture, as well as inserting various tidbits that correct people's presumptions of this nation. Some of the entries do become repetitive after a while, but overall, it's a good starting point for someone with even a passing interest in China.
Obtained: Forbidden Planet
Finished: 25-July 2008
Quickie review: I've been reading a lot more American comics this year than I ever have in my life. This is the series that first took hold and hasn't let go. This volume, which focuses on Flycatcher (aka the Frog Prince), is probably the first story arc in Fables that's more or less closed. I enjoyed this arc immensely, even though I could've done without the short chapter about the wolf cubs... I also wasn't crazy about the art change for that particular portion.
Obtained: NYPL
Finished: 31-July 2008
Quickie review: A collection of short stories about Russians living in Brooklyn and their life situations involving food. Mikhail (the boyfriend) first found out about this, and you know that since I've now moved into Brooklyn, I had to read this book out of anthropological (or sociological) curiosity. The author was able to catch nuances of the Russian personality that I've seen for myself -- but not necessarily making excuses for them, which is cool.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Obtained: FrugalReader
Finished: 8-February 2008
Story Synopsis:
This was one of those novels where I had no prior knowledge of the book prior to reading it. I think I've seen it on the B&N "recommended fiction" tables a few times, but there was nothing so spectacular about it that made me want to get it then & there.
So, when it was offered on FrugalReader, I just grabbed it merely because I was craving another Asian-themed book (one can only read and re-read Banana Yoshimoto so many times).
Two young men are sent for re-education to the Chinese countryside for re-education during the Cultural Revolution. The narrator and his friend Luo are sons of a doctor and a dentist, respectively, so living among the peasants in a remote mountain area of China is essentially an exile from the world that they've known. They're subjected to humbling tasks, such as transporting fertilizer (okay, pig manure) to the fields and to crawling naked in the mines to collect coal. Eventually, they obtain the 'honor' to be the village's storytellers -- where the commune leader tells them to go to the next big town, watch the movie showing, and then recount the story to the rest of the community back on the mountain.
At this same time, they make the acquaintance of the daughter of the local tailor, the Little Seamstress. Both are smitten by her beauty and charm, even though Luo takes it a step forward and forms a romantic relationship with her. Around this time, they also obtain a slim volume of Balzac from another boy going through re-education in the next town. Inspired at the effect their storytelling has on the peasants, they decide to 're-educate' the Little Seamstress in their own way, by exposing her to Western literature and thinking.
I never expected to enjoy this novel this much. It's a very slim work, but it achieves its point in its brevity. I know this isn't the first novel that I've read that extols the transformative quality of reading and of literature, but the manner the novel goes about it is beautiful. I think I love the ending sentence most of all.
High recommendations for this novel. I'm sure the original French work has same oomph, if not more.
Obtained: FrugalReader
Finished: 8-February 2008
Story Synopsis:
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is an enchanting tale that captures the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening. An immediate international bestseller, it tells the story of two hapless city boys exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education during China’s infamous Cultural Revolution. There the two friends 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, the two friends find transit from their grim surroundings to worlds they never imagined.
Commentary:This was one of those novels where I had no prior knowledge of the book prior to reading it. I think I've seen it on the B&N "recommended fiction" tables a few times, but there was nothing so spectacular about it that made me want to get it then & there.
So, when it was offered on FrugalReader, I just grabbed it merely because I was craving another Asian-themed book (one can only read and re-read Banana Yoshimoto so many times).
Two young men are sent for re-education to the Chinese countryside for re-education during the Cultural Revolution. The narrator and his friend Luo are sons of a doctor and a dentist, respectively, so living among the peasants in a remote mountain area of China is essentially an exile from the world that they've known. They're subjected to humbling tasks, such as transporting fertilizer (okay, pig manure) to the fields and to crawling naked in the mines to collect coal. Eventually, they obtain the 'honor' to be the village's storytellers -- where the commune leader tells them to go to the next big town, watch the movie showing, and then recount the story to the rest of the community back on the mountain.
At this same time, they make the acquaintance of the daughter of the local tailor, the Little Seamstress. Both are smitten by her beauty and charm, even though Luo takes it a step forward and forms a romantic relationship with her. Around this time, they also obtain a slim volume of Balzac from another boy going through re-education in the next town. Inspired at the effect their storytelling has on the peasants, they decide to 're-educate' the Little Seamstress in their own way, by exposing her to Western literature and thinking.
I never expected to enjoy this novel this much. It's a very slim work, but it achieves its point in its brevity. I know this isn't the first novel that I've read that extols the transformative quality of reading and of literature, but the manner the novel goes about it is beautiful. I think I love the ending sentence most of all.
High recommendations for this novel. I'm sure the original French work has same oomph, if not more.
A 23-year old Columbia grad heads off to Beijing to try her luck in life. By some odd twist of fate, she ends up being one of the lead actresses of a primetime Chinese soap opera. This book details her life as a "foreign babe" -- which isn't always as glamorous as the cover would like us to think.
Rachel DeWoskin's interest and knowledge of Chinese culture prior to arrive in Beijing really helped her define her experience, which would not have been the case if she were just a regular girl from the American midwest who thinks that going to China is going to be a mythical & magical ride. But, even with all these, there were aspects of Beijing life that weren't all sunshine and rainbows. As an Asian-American myself, I could imagine how much easier her China experience would have been compared to mine -- being a white American female kinda helps sometimes. Her salary is higher than her other colleagues merely because she's white, she gets additional attention because she's white, heck, even the role was offered to her (a person with no acting experience) because's white. Sure, this is unfair, but the author realizes this as well. This is the point of the book, in essence: even in the modernity that is racing across China (most especially Beijing), the Chinese people are still struggling in redefining the roles of women, foreigners and Chinese alike.
DeWoskin starts off well, but in the end, I think she was starting to get preachy. I would have liked to read more about her own personal experiences in China, but instead, we got vignettes about Anna, Kate, the boyfriend, and the painter. I didn't mind the female anecdotes, but the chapters on the males were a bit heavy-handed. Otherwise, still an okay read. I personally get a kick in reading non-Asian accounts of life & culture in Asia.
Rachel DeWoskin's interest and knowledge of Chinese culture prior to arrive in Beijing really helped her define her experience, which would not have been the case if she were just a regular girl from the American midwest who thinks that going to China is going to be a mythical & magical ride. But, even with all these, there were aspects of Beijing life that weren't all sunshine and rainbows. As an Asian-American myself, I could imagine how much easier her China experience would have been compared to mine -- being a white American female kinda helps sometimes. Her salary is higher than her other colleagues merely because she's white, she gets additional attention because she's white, heck, even the role was offered to her (a person with no acting experience) because's white. Sure, this is unfair, but the author realizes this as well. This is the point of the book, in essence: even in the modernity that is racing across China (most especially Beijing), the Chinese people are still struggling in redefining the roles of women, foreigners and Chinese alike.
DeWoskin starts off well, but in the end, I think she was starting to get preachy. I would have liked to read more about her own personal experiences in China, but instead, we got vignettes about Anna, Kate, the boyfriend, and the painter. I didn't mind the female anecdotes, but the chapters on the males were a bit heavy-handed. Otherwise, still an okay read. I personally get a kick in reading non-Asian accounts of life & culture in Asia.
