Balzac y la Joven Costurera China (Narrativa) (Spanish Edition) (utgåvan 2001)

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I'm not sure why this didn't work for me. Interesting story and characters, historical fiction with unique setting. I just felt like something was missing. The writing felt slightly clinical and matter of fact, even though the author wrote about emotional topics and beauty; possibly a matter of the lyrical writing being lost in translation. My biggest problem was that the story wasn't about the narrator and his friend. It was really about the seamstress, yet we barely got to know her or see her point of view. It was such an odd choice and left me with feelings of detachment and annoyance. Not terrible, just meh overall. ( )

Books helped the narrator and his friend, Luo, in their lonely days up in the mountains during the Cultural Revolution. Books or rather stories also empowered and liberated the mind of the little Chinese seamstress. In the end, she decided to leave the mountains for the cities, thus forsaking her relationship with Luo. In anger, Luo burnt the books. Charming story about the power of books. ( )

I liked this book about young Chinese men who learn about life and love during China's Cultural Revolution. ( )

Fun Characters, Transparent Motives

"Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" is a novel with a strong beginning but it fails to develop. It is written by Dai Sijie and translated from the original French by Ina Rilke.

It is set during the Cultural Revolution in China when students from big cities were "sent down" to rural areas in order to "learn from the masses." Most novels and memoirs of these period speak of awful deprivations, including public denunciations, little food, and harsh labor conditions. The two boys in this novel, however, seem to live very well in comparison. Their biggest physical challenge seems to be the fact that they are living above a pig sty, which has no impact whatsoever on their beings. There is little mention of their farm labor and they seem to spend the majority of their time telling stories, going to the cinema in a neighboring village, playing violin, and smoking cigarettes. Their experience seems more like a camping trip.

Balzac comes into play when the two boys find out that another "sent down" youth nearby has several foreign novels hidden in his suitcase. The boys develop a fascination with Balzac. The novel quite quickly becomes a transparent homage to the "power" of French literature, including Baudelaire and Dumas and Rimbaud and every other classic French author. These foreign writers immediately transform the boys from naive children to self-aware, critical young men. The point of the book seems to showcase the transformative power Western literature can have on Chinese people. This is the major fault of the book.

Another fault of the book is the one-dimensional nature of the characters. This is influenced by their quick susceptibility to being transformed by French authors. However, the "Little Chinese Seamstress" is also flat. She is a delicate, blossoming young woman who is sought after by all the young men in the surrounding areas. One of the boys is able to capture her heart by relating to her stories of Balzac.

In the end, "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" is the author's perception that French literature conquers the hearts and minds of anyone who comes into its' contact. ( )