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A review of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

by Dai Sijie

Deceptively small, yet monumentally profound

Reviewed by: Helen Harvey
About Helen Harvey

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Ask any fiction author about what subjects you should write, and, invariably, the answer you'll get is "Write about what you know."

Little wonder then, that Chinese born filmmaker, Dai Sijie, based this book upon Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution, which saw intellectuals banished to peasant villages for re-education, since he, too, endured such an experience.

This book is small in size, but don't be deceived. Quality should not be judged by quantity. What lies within this beautifully written, delightfully funny, and painfully sad, social commentary of a novel is absolutely exquisite.

The 17-year-old protagonist, and his best friend Luo are condemned to four years re-education for the crime of being the sons of doctors. Finding themselves in a remote mountain village, they are surrounded by squalor, and reduced to a grueling daily routine of tasks such as navigating treacherous paths, while hauling buckets of excrement, which must be disposed of.

Their only light in an extremely dark world comes when they discover a hidden cache of Western literature. Dickens, Tolstoy, Flaubert, and Balzac are among their find, and they must use their ingenuity and cunning if they are to have the pleasure of reading these forbidden treasures without discovery and punishment.

With their books as inspiration, the boys become known for their story-telling skills, and are commanded by the village headman to perform narrations for the pleasure of the villagers. Amongst those eager to hear their tales is the beautiful daughter of the local tailor who lives in a neighboring village, and who, until then, has had no education. What transpires in this short, yet bittersweet tale, is to change all their lives.

This book serves as a remarkable lesson on a period in contemporary history, which many of us would have remained ignorant of , were it not for this poignant and immensely readable account.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Copyright © by Helen Harvey, 2002

Reviewed by Helen Harvey:
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