Search - Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Being a bibliophile myself, I can understand the lengths these boys went to in securing these books. It was their physical strength which surprised me. Talk about endurance! A very moving story for anyone who appreciates literature or freedom.

What a delight! Enlightening, educational, romantic, and inspiring. This little book mesmerized me. The author's descriptions of the villages, the work these boys were forced to endure, their euphoria in finding Western books to devour.....so well done. Now I want to see the movie.

Well written, carefully drawn characters, and lovely scenic descriptions. A delightful little book!

This novella is about the two teenage boys who are sent down to the country during the Great Beastly Cultural Revolution's dying days in the early Seventies. True city boys, they experience the hardships of lugging nightsoil and plowing fields with stone age technology. They are victimized by the sadistic village headman and slovenly illiterate peasants. Their souls are saved when they discover a cache of Western classic novels in translation. They also get an idea of the ups and downs of romantic love from the seamstress of the title. The novel is light-weight but to Dai’s credit he does imply that not all the effects of reading great literature are beneficial. I’d recommend this novel to those interested in the Cultural Revolution or hardcore readers looking for a slender middle-brow read for a break.

Excellent!