Book Reviews of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Quick read. Charming coming-of-age type story of a teenaged boy during the Maoist re-education of China. Literature lovers will especially appreciate this one.

I loved this book! It's a beautiful little gem of a book! It's like a fairy-tale, set in the mountains of China during an unlikely period for a fairy-tale; the "re-education" reign of Chairman Mao. I highly recommend it, and I'm not relisting it, because I want my husband to read it, my son to read it.... It's one of those books that you read and want everyone you love to read it, too.
Claudielou

I loved the style of writing of this book. It reminded me of Pearl S. Buck. A wonderful story of two young men sent to the countryside during the re-education of upper class during the Communist Revolution of Mao. But the story is really the story of fine literature and the effect that it has on everyone regardless of their party affiliation. It also tells the story of youth coming of age in very trying times. A very quick read.

It's very, very seldom I like a movie better than a book, but this is one story that was better told on the screen. I saw the movie first, and it was gently funny and so good, although the ending was re-written from the book and I didn't like the end of the movie even worse than I didn't like the end of the book. After loving the movie so much I read the book ... and it fell flat. Maybe if I hadn't seen it first, I would have liked reading it more. It seemed the humor was gone from the book.

Spoiler alert! The end of the book is a little hard to catch for some. Here's my take on it: Luo wanted to open the mind of the girl through literature, and he did such a good job of it that she 'out-grew' him and the countryside, and was ready for bigger things in the city.

I picked this book up on a whim at the buy 3 for the price of 2 table at a book store. The boys in the book struggle with their past "rich" life with their parents to learning how to live on the mountain side. While trying to survive, through hard labor, they entertain the villagers with their stories from movies they've seen. As they live in the village, one of the boys meets a girl who he wishes he can love through the stories he knows in his movies and books he's read. Its a quick read that I enjoyed.

A heartwarming story about two Chinese youths sent to the mountains for "re-education" during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Humorous, sad, and ironic, it's a lovely read.

From Publishers Weekly
The Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao Zedong altered Chinese history in the 1960s and '70s, forcibly sending hundreds of thousands of Chinese intellectuals to peasant villages for "re-education." This moving, often wrenching short novel by a writer who was himself re-educated in the '70s tells how two young men weather years of banishment, emphasizing the power of literature to free the mind. Sijie's unnamed 17-year-old protagonist and his best friend, Luo, are bourgeois doctors' sons, and so condemned to serve four years in a remote mountain village, carrying pails of excrement daily up a hill. Only their ingenuity helps them to survive. The two friends are good at storytelling, and the village headman commands them to put on "oral cinema shows" for the villagers, reciting the plots and dialogue of movies. When another city boy leaves the mountains, the friends steal a suitcase full of forbidden books he has been hiding, knowing he will be afraid to call the authorities. Enchanted by the prose of a host of European writers, they dare to tell the story of The Count of Monte Cristo to the village tailor and to read Balzac to his shy and beautiful young daughter. Luo, who adores the Little Seamstress, dreams of transforming her from a simple country girl into a sophisticated lover with his foreign tales. He succeeds beyond his expectations, but the result is not what he might have hoped for, and leads to an unexpected, droll and poignant conclusion. The warmth and humor of Sijie's prose and the clarity of Rilke's translation distinguish this slim first novel, a wonderfully human tale. (Sept. 17)Forecast: Sijie's debut was a best-seller and prize winner in France in 2000, and rights have been sold in 19 countries

This book came out in 2000 to widespread critical acclaim. Despite the rich cultural and historical backdrop of Maoist China, the book is not pretentious and it is easy to read. The fairy tale story line takes two rich boys into the mountains of China for a "re-education" where they experience, for the first time, the hardships of living a poor life intermingled with the hardships of living under an oppressive communist regime. Despite the hardships they face, they find solace in a secret and forbidden stash of Western classics which transports them from their difficulties. And, boys being boys, they flirt with the local town hottie, a seamstress.

I would call this a coming of age story, but yet the narrator and his friend Luo are already 18 years old when they are sent away from there families as part of the Chinese Re-Education program. This took them away from their families and lives with very little hope of ever seen them again. But that is not what this book was really about for me, it was more a story of hope, of love, of lust, of friendship, of betrayal and how books when you don't have access to them, mean the world to you. They can be your savior and your burden, but you are willing to risk everything for them. How when you have so very little, you can still have a whole world available to you.

A very human glimpse inside China during the Cultural Revolution.

I found this a great fast read with insight into the Chinese cultural revolution and how people may act or react in said situations.

This book is so well written with excellent descriptions. I loved the story.

This was a fantastic book. It was really well-written, had an extremely interesting plot/background, and was a beautiful story. I don't know how to describe how amazing this story was - so I won't even try. It's a must-read.

A delightful, quick read. I became totally engrossed with the characters and the relationship between the two boys as friends and their interactions with the one's girlfriend. I would recommend it, but I will warn you I didn't quite understand the end of the novel.

Two friends are brought to a remote village to "lose" their intellect and culture, but instead they make new friends and gain a whole new respect for their countrymen. Simply written and easy to read. Another great coming-of-age story.

Beautifully written, full of imagination and depth in its depiction of the craziness of Communist China, but with a cynical, dark ending that steals away the satisfying meaning of the earlier part of the book.

wonderful read.. lots of information about China's cultural revolution from the point of view of 2 young men....some love interests, some humor.

Very enjoyable, a quick, easy read for anyone interested in literature's role in the lives of Chinese peasants during the Cultural Revolution. It shows Western literature as having great power for enlightenment of the individual.

Wonderfully written, almost fairy tale-like. Set in China during its Cultural Revolution, the story lets you experience another time and place.

Not worth reading. Pretends to be deep and profound but only skims the surface.

During China's infamous "Culturual Revolution," two city boys are sent to a remote mountain village for "reeducation. They discover and begin surreptitiously reading, a cache of Western literary classics translated into Chinese; they also form a bond with the daughter of the local tailor. It's a bit slow at points, but overall, a moving tale.

A wonderful little book; poignant insights into Mao's China

Very quick read. Well written and enjoyable. It is a beautiful testament to the power of the written word.

Fine storytelling, well-written, engaging right from the beginning. And enjoyable read.

A little treasure! Quick read. Lovely story. Interesting insights into China's cultural revolution.

This little book was so mesmerizing and fun to read! I hope that you will enjoy the relationships in this sweet tale.

This book was ok. I expected a richer story. I wanted more.

Book was interesting because I was in China a couple of years ago and listened to stories of people who went through the "reducation process"

I really enjoyed this book. It was selected for my book group and I thought a book about banned Western books in China would be interesting. However, it is much more than this. It is a story of two boys in the middle of the Chinese cultural revolution. It kept my attention throughout and has a couple of twists at the end that I wasn't expecting. Highly recommended fast read.

Kept me turning the pages

Very good book. A story of a woman's empowerment through literature and knowledge. I read it in one sitting.

What did I think of it? It was a nice little story. There's not a lot of depth. The characters don't change (much), there is not a great deal of action, the time period and culture are simply the background to the story. Like I said at the beginning, there just isn't much to say about it. But maybe you think differently?

You can read my entire review - and post your own comments - here.

Great read for a mid-winter day when you want to escape to another world entirely.

Plot Summary:
Two teenage boys are sent to be re-educated at the Mountain of the Phoenix of the Sky. There they meet the Little Chinese Seamstress, who Luo falls in love with. At the same time they meet Four-Eyes who is also being re-educated. Although he is considered a success story by those in charge, he is in fact hiding forbidden books.

A look into another culture and the difficulties overcome. A serious read with no humor to recommend it.

A too-short gem inspired by The Cultural Revolution.

quick read, could've used a little more depth.

A delightful story about the Chinese cultural revolution and how people seek to understand.

Fast read with a insights into Communist China's "Cultural Revolution."

This is a good story.

An interesting story about life in communist china during Mao's reign.

Awesome book!

bestseller. the magic of reading and knowledge during the chinese cultural revolution.

Wonderful writing. Don't know why I waited so long to read it, but glad I finally opened its pretty cover.

I loved this little book. This story took me to a place and time I'm not likely to explore in real life and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Leah G.

a simple story, seductively told...It touches and lifts up the beauty of human experience far beyond the mountains of Western China in which the story is set.

Two hapless city boys are exiled to a remote mountain village for reeducation during the Chinese Cultural Revolution

This was a good book. A quick read. Not what I thought it would be.

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.

This is a beautiful, readable book. The 19-year-old narrator sees and lives through horrors of the Cultural Revolution, but the tone is almost insoucient--believably teenage. And, of course, it always feels good to read literature that celebrates literature.

Loved this book. It's hard to imagine life without books!!

very easy to read, wonderful!

An interesting look into China during the "re-education" period.

A great quick read!! Two Chinese city boys are relocated to a mountain village during China's Cultural Revolution for re-education.

Fabulous descripions of the life and times for which this story was told. You felt you were right there. Amazing little book. One to reread over and over again.

interesting little tale and also a fast read. For those who might wonder, this is a pretty thin book.

A story about city boys exiled to the country for reeducation in China.

Easy read. Interesting perspective on what people will do for literary knowledge when they are deprived.

Good read - insight into Chinese culture.

I absolutely loved this little, tiny book. So much was packed into it.

Interesting characters, though I felt the book was too short and certain characters and elements were not as developed as they could have been. Still, an interesting introduction to life in China during the Cultural Revolution.

A unique and interesting story.

This was a very enchanting book.

This book is a little gem. An intelligent read with a great ending.

Brilliant, touching and at times, quite funny! I loved this book!

good book...a little wordy

This a quaint story about two boys who are exiled to a remot mountain village for re-education during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. They meet the local tailor's daughter. She has some banned books that the boys devour. It is a story about "the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening".

A lighthearted look at life in exile during the cultural revolution in China.

two hapless city boys are exiled to a remote mountain village in China for "re-education". During the infamous Cultural Revolution, these two meet the daughter of a local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western classics which are banned works.

Te rave reviews have said it all-a story set in a small Chinese village, where 2 young men have been sent for "re-education".

Loved this story!

Great book!

I liked this novel a lot about the life of a young man during China's cultural revolution in the 70's. Only problem was that the story was too short!

Somewhat difficult to get into, but if you hang in there, it's well worth it.

It is a quick reading, well written little story.

Sweet novel.

This is a story of two city boys exiled to a remote mountain village for reeducation during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. Fascinating!

It is so thrilling to read literature sometimes that is not Western-based. This small novel is unusual, heartfelt, humorous, and wise. Beautifully written and poetic, unique in its storytelling and scope.

Great!!

A wonderful story,I loved every word of it.

My book club had a very interesting discussion on this book. From the book jacket "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 re-education 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."

"A funny, touching, sly and altogether delightful novel...about the power of art to enlarge our imaginations.!

The Washington Post Book World

From Publishers Weekly
The Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao Zedong altered Chinese history in the 1960s and '70s, forcibly sending hundreds of thousands of Chinese intellectuals to peasant villages for "re-education." This moving, often wrenching short novel by a writer who was himself re-educated in the '70s tells how two young men weather years of banishment, emphasizing the power of literature to free the mind. Sijie's unnamed 17-year-old protagonist and his best friend, Luo, are bourgeois doctors' sons, and so condemned to serve four years in a remote mountain village, carrying pails of excrement daily up a hill. Only their ingenuity helps them to survive. The two friends are good at storytelling, and the village headman commands them to put on "oral cinema shows" for the villagers, reciting the plots and dialogue of movies. When another city boy leaves the mountains, the friends steal a suitcase full of forbidden books he has been hiding, knowing he will be afraid to call the authorities. Enchanted by the prose of a host of European writers, they dare to tell the story of The Count of Monte Cristo to the village tailor and to read Balzac to his shy and beautiful young daughter. Luo, who adores the Little Seamstress, dreams of transforming her from a simple country girl into a sophisticated lover with his foreign tales. He succeeds beyond his expectations, but the result is not what he might have hoped for, and leads to an unexpected, droll and poignant conclusion. The warmth and humor of Sijie's prose and the clarity of Rilke's translation distinguish this slim first novel, a wonderfully human tale. (Sept. 17)Forecast: Sijie's debut was a best-seller and prize winner in France in 2000, and rights have been sold in 19 countries; it is also scheduled to be made into a film. Its charm translates admirably strong sales can be expected on this side of the Atlantic.

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