The Fat Years

Apr 25, 2013 Alta added it · review of another edition

Shelves: unfinished

The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung (Anchor Books, 2013. Trans. from the Chinese by Michael S. Duke)

Chan Koonchung—who was raised in Hong Kong, has studied in Boston, worked for many years as a successful journalist/editor, and now lives in Beijing—knows what Westerners go for, so he has packaged a novel with all the necessary ingredients: references to the Tiananmen Square massacre, a succinct compilation of the most important events in 20th century Chinese history—this alone is evidence of the aud...more The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung (Anchor Books, 2013. Trans. from the Chinese by Michael S. Duke)

Chan Koonchung—who was raised in Hong Kong, has studied in Boston, worked for many years as a successful journalist/editor, and now lives in Beijing—knows what Westerners go for, so he has packaged a novel with all the necessary ingredients: references to the Tiananmen Square massacre, a succinct compilation of the most important events in 20th century Chinese history—this alone is evidence of the audience the author had in mind, as one would only do that for a foreign audience—and criticism of China’s “Golden Age of Ascendency.” There isn’t a cheaper way to success than giving people what they want, and Chan Koonchung knows exactly what a Western, in particular an American audience, wants to hear about China.

The novel’s premise isn’t bad, but to compare it with Orwell, as it has been done, or to call it a satire, when you can’t find a grain of wit or irony in it just shows how gullible Western readers are. The translation may be partially responsible for the cardboard atmosphere, but the main culprit is, no doubt, the author. From the get-go this is a book for fast-food lovers (read: lovers of preprocessed cultural experiences), and this is a novel written as if the author had a list with points to check, all based on market research: does he need a reference to English-language literature? Jane Austen. A reference to French culture? [insert name of] French red wine.

I can see why this novel has gotten so much attention: if you are an American businessman or journalist obsessed with the ascendance of China, this novel contains a lot of interesting information about contemporary China, without being too alienating in its cultural references, which are all carefully selected. But if you are actually interested in literature—after all, this book claims to be a novel—look for something else. The worst thing about this book, however, is not its bad writing and preprocessed message, but the fact that a product conceived in the most abject Capitalist style (that is, by conforming to the expectations of the largest possible market) can actually fool people by pretending that it’s the opposite of what it is.
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Feb 19, 2013 Steven Langdon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: super

Chan Koonchung has written a remarkable and deeply insightful novel about contemporary China. "The Fat Years" is a "Brave New World" or "News from Nowhere" social commentary on a China-that-might-be, given present trends. It is a book that sits thoughtfully on the critique side of the spectrum between utopia and dystopia -- and does not significantly disguise its focus on the present reality of Chinese society and politics.

Written in 2009, "The Fat Years" describes a 2013 China in economic asce...more Chan Koonchung has written a remarkable and deeply insightful novel about contemporary China. "The Fat Years" is a "Brave New World" or "News from Nowhere" social commentary on a China-that-might-be, given present trends. It is a book that sits thoughtfully on the critique side of the spectrum between utopia and dystopia -- and does not significantly disguise its focus on the present reality of Chinese society and politics.

Written in 2009, "The Fat Years" describes a 2013 China in economic ascendency, prospering after devaluation and debt lead to collapse in the US and Europe; Taiwanese writer Lao Chen lives in Beijing and finds himself caught up in the widespread euphoria of almost all Chinese, enjoying lives of increasing mass consumption -- he is the protagonist who guides us through the novel. Two old friends challenge his sense of complacency -- Fang Caodi who finds a month in 2011 is missing from official news accounts, and Little Xi who rekindles Lao's past passions for her from the days of dissident 1980's ferment. Lao Chen also finds himself, to his surprise, interacting closely with He Dongsheng, a very senior Communist Party bureaucrat who shares his enthusiasm for old Chinese cinema.

Part love story (between Lao and Little Xi,) part mystery (why is that month missing?) and part thriller (He Dongsheng is a kidnap target,) "The Fat Years" moves from one startling insight to another throughout its 300 pages. I have spent some time in China -- and was especially struck by the following:
* the reports of extensive luxury goods consumption in Beijing and elsewhere. Hong Kong has had this flavour in the past, I found, Beijing not so much so.
* the rise of largescale Protestant Christianity in parts of the countryside -- and the way that the Communist party authorities seemed prepared to deal with it with a reasonable degree of respect. Such a social phenomenon, in the aftermath of Falun Gong, is remarkable.
* discussion of the differing perspectives of Chinese from Hong Kong or Taiwan vis-a-vis mainland China. "The intellectual elites of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong think about things in completely different ways," says He, "their awareness, discourse, concepts of history, and worldviews are fundamentally different."
* the vision of agreement between China and Japan that the book seems to posit, associated with China's economic ascendancy. This notion is particularly dramatic given the present conflict between the two countries over the Senkaku or Diaoyu islands.

The most fascinating part of the book, however, is the final conversation/confrontation between the Communist He and the dissidents Fang, Little Xi and (in the end) Lao. It is partly a debate about remembering history (especially the 1989 democracy struggles in China;) it is also in part an ambivalent recognition of the strength of the Communist party in protecting against the potential chaos of social collapse; but it is above all a call for democratic freedom and the state to "live together" rather than "die together" via authoritarian repression. Comrade He accepts the idea of "living together," in part because of his memories of past idealism -- and his fear of dangerous fascist elements who could take over the Communist party in a more authoritarian context. But Chan Koonchung has made it clear that he is not certain that a "living together" strategy can endure -- and he is also worried that what he calls "90 percent freedom" is not enough for China to meet its people's full aspirations.

This may not be the best novel you will ever read -- its characters could be developed more deeply and its plot is somewhat sparse. But the insights provided into one of the world's most important societies make "The Fat Years" a superb book. The reasons for Chinese happiness will also leave you amused, and ready to re-read Aldous Huxley's drugged fantasy "Brave New World."

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Jul 24, 2012 Biblibio rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: translated, chinese, fiction, 21st-century

Truthfully, I couldn't finish the book. The Fat Years is badly written and characterized, with only its message going for it. Unfortunately, even 60% into the novel the main plot point had yet to appear - only awkward setup. Coupled with overly blunt writing and severly stilted dialogue, The Fat Years is an utterly unpleasant read.

Is there political, near-future relevance to the book? Maybe. But it's impossible to reach the point through the mess and though the message screams loudly, it isn't r...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Felice rated it 2 of 5 stars

The novel The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung has been banned in China. I know this because it says so right on the cover of the book. Big deal right? What isn’t banned in China? Does a book being banned somewhere entice anyone to read it anymore like in the old Legion of Decency days? What possible titillation or thrill from forbidden knowledge could come from a banned book these days when you can go in the internet and see any type of porn you want and/or cats spouting philosophy while dressed as...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Ryandake rated it 2 of 5 stars

this book should come with a warning label.

it's supposed to be a novel, fer chrissakes. not a synopsis of china's political and economic history. if they'd sold is as the latter, i'd give it five stars. but as a novel, it blows.

i bought the audiobook rather than the print version. the narrator does quite a nice job. i listened to it while teaching myself to knit, fortunately. at least something useful came out of the time.

the story's split into two sections--the "story" part, and the epilogue. i...more this book should come with a warning label.

it's supposed to be a novel, fer chrissakes. not a synopsis of china's political and economic history. if they'd sold is as the latter, i'd give it five stars. but as a novel, it blows.

i bought the audiobook rather than the print version. the narrator does quite a nice job. i listened to it while teaching myself to knit, fortunately. at least something useful came out of the time.

the story's split into two sections--the "story" part, and the epilogue. if you can grit your teeth through all the long political diatribes in the first part, you are rewarded in the epilogue (which is nearly as long as the story part, in terms of audiobook time). i'm certain that the author wrote the first part as a bit of pandering to popular taste--making a (not very convincing) love story in order to drag the reader through the contemporary politics lesson. but it's not a patch on the dullness of the epilogue.

when the epilogue started, i was already quite exhausted from shrieking "get on with it!" to my poor iPod. but the epilogue is a whole new kettle of fish: a long, long, long, long, long monologue by a communist party hack.

it became an endurance test for me. i don't like not finishing books, and since i had at least nine more feet of Dr. Who scarf to knit, i had plenty to keep me distracted. mr. hack began with a five-part lesson in political history, and then moved on to the more thrilling subject of economics, finally ending with a short course in methods of social control. at 3am, i finally crawled across the finish line.

i felt like i'd been held in a chinese political prison, forced to endure re-education.

let it be said that for those who know zip about china's recent history, it can be pretty enlightening. i've no doubt that the very knowledge gap a chinese citizen is likely to have about her own country is the problem the writer was addressing. but if you do know something about contemporary china, it is a painful grind.

however, the entire epilogue was just cruel.

if you'd like to read an actual novel about contemporary china, read Mo Yan. now that man knows how to tell a story, and i do hope in future that mr. chan will undertake some study of the novel form rather than merely lecturing his readers.(less)

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Jan 17, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, east-asian, dystopia

This is an intriguing book, at least the 75%. The first three quarters consist of inter-woven stories of several citizens of Beijing, China in 2013, two years after a world financial crisis that has resulted in China becoming an economic superpower. They've even bought Starbucks and begun serving up lychee dragon lattes. But don't forget: this is a dystopian tale, a science fiction tale. The Chinese people, it seems, have a case of collective amnesia when it comes to their country's recent past....more

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Aug 29, 2011 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was August 12th. The US stock market had just spent the last week absolutely tanking, and all signs seemed to be pointing to another recession. And I stumbled upon this book in an international airport, and couldn't resist... the premise of the fictional "thriller" being that in the summer of 2011 the US and world economies collapse into a 2nd global financial crisis, but that leads to a new "Golden Age" of prosperity in China. The book is fictional and is written from the perspective of char...more

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Jul 16, 2012 John C. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although this novel is set in the near future (2013) and has a few sci-fi overtones, it essentially is an inside draft of contemporary life in China today. The premise of the story centres around a suspected brainwashing of sorts governed upon the whole country.
After the global financial meltdown of 2008, China appears the only country to rise above being completely unscathed, much like Canada except China realized little, if any, austerity at all. Since then the Chinese have been extraordinaril...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Cherie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Others have already discussed the organization of this book. Personally, I found the first 2/3 of the book to alternate between being interesting and being tedious. I thought it might be the result of translation. The mystery of the story is to find out why so few people remember a 28 day period in Chinese history that corresponds to the time period when Western economies were imploding (mortgage and debt crises) and, supposedly, the exact start of a Chinese period of Ascendency. Interesting, bu...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Sooz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“No country can afford to be without idealists, especially not contemporary China” The Fat Years

i’ve been reading about the Cold War and how little time there was between the triumphant success of the allied forces -ending w.w. 2- and the return of self-interests that established a huge divide between them .... a divide that would dominate world politics for years to come. i’d read about the Marshall Plan before (American aid that helped rebuild a war-torn Europe) but i had no idea how incredibl...more “No country can afford to be without idealists, especially not contemporary China” The Fat Years

i’ve been reading about the Cold War and how little time there was between the triumphant success of the allied forces -ending w.w. 2- and the return of self-interests that established a huge divide between them .... a divide that would dominate world politics for years to come. i’d read about the Marshall Plan before (American aid that helped rebuild a war-torn Europe) but i had no idea how incredibly calculated it really was. how keenly aware the American government was of this divide, and how nervous it made them. how the Marshall Plan was designed to address THAT situation as much as it was designed to help rebuild homes and schools and roads.

so it was interesting to read (in The Fat Years) of the plan the Chinese government implements in response to the public unrest after the economic collapse ... and it was easy to believe that a government could be that shrewd, that calculating, that manipulative. i think we sometimes forget that a government -as an entity- is following the evolutionary laws that govern all entities: self preservation and propagation. these two laws of nature motivate the decisions a government makes just as much as the well-being and stability of the country they are charged to govern. sometimes more. those in control count on the public’s ignorance and apathy, but when that fails, fear is the most effective tool available to ensure their plans don’t get derailed. but as The Fat Years points out, the people may be afraid of those in power, but the authorities are also afraid of the people, and they are especially afraid of idealists.

political motives provide the structure -the framework -within which the characters of the novel live their lives. most live happily in the state of ignorance and apathy the government has created for them. The Fat Years tells the story of a few who don’t. a few who set out to figure out what is behind this happy façade.

i have to admit the unfamiliarity of the Chinese names were confusing at times, so the handy list of major characters at the beginning of the book was useful -especially if a few days had passed since i'd last picked up the book. and while Koonchung doesn’t seem to spend a lot of time developing these characters, their actions speak for themselves, and the reader does connect with them. in terms of the character's actions, i think the need to have a tribe -even a very small one- comes through loud and clear. in the beginning of the book, Little Xi and Fang Caodi are each alone seeking for someone -anyone- who has not been asimilated into the hive mind. they meet through a mutual friend, Lao Chen, and once they find each other, they find the strength and confidence to act.

while there is a mystery to be solved, and characters coming and going, this is a politically-charged and politically-driven novel. in other words, if you want an action-packed, suspenseful dystopian novel to entertain you … read The Hunger Games(less)

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Sep 25, 2012 Katleen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Waarom wel lezen: Dit boek geeft je echt de goesting om China en haar systemen beter te leren kennen. Waarom is er zo'n opmars bezig in China, hoe denkt de regering, hoe is de tegenstelling communisme - kapitalisme, ...

Waarom doorzetten: ik vond het verhaal redelijk langdradig. Het start nochtans goed. Er is een maand verdwenen in China. Tussen het uitbreken van de wereldwijde financiële crisis en het begin van China's 'vette jaren' zitten in werkelijkheid 28 dagen, maar deze zijn compleet gewis...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Sharon Stoneman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

It's a small world, after all? A novel that aims to look at contemporary China is tackling a huge story, and the author repeatedly refers to the challenges that the size of China presents - both in the number of citizens and in its geography. And yet, the cast of characters - less than a dozen - move about the country, travel the world - and continually run into each other. At the local Starbucks, the local bookshop. Even in its hugeness, China is a small world.

The characters in the book are lik...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: random-comments-review

...I suppose I can see why the Chinese government would not be thrilled with the publication of The Fat Years. I think the answer to the riddle of the missing month is so over the top however, that nobody would take it too seriously, including the censors in China. It does offer the western readers a glimpse of life in urban China that we don't often get to see. It shows a level criticism of the government, discussions on various historical events that are usually taboo and a number of frank com...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Tuck rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: western-rural-with-tractors-horse

nan talese is usually a stamp of excellence, a sign that the product you are holding is quality, exciting, literature even. this could be an exciting novel of famine, great leaps forward and people's ability to overcome great hardships. but it actually is a poor story written rather badly. see this instead From Wonso Pond: A Korean Novel or this The Orphan Master's Son or this Wolf Totem or this talese imprint The Ginseng Hunter: A Novel

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Mar 27, 2012 Dustin Voliva rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012, must-reads

This is an brilliant novel influenced by the 2008 economic downturn in the West. It contains 3 distinct parts:
1. Various diaries and first person narratives involving a mystery about 28 missing days from the collective people of China.
2. A third person narrated quest to find and save a missing woman.
3. A monologue by a party head, given to the dissidents who have kidnapped him in an effort to figure out why China's residents are so happy and how 28 days are missing from 99% of the population'...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Liam Berry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

The Fat Years is a bit of an oddity. It's part slow burning thriller, part near-future dystopia critique and part political exposition. There is something alien about the flow of the language and I have attributed this to a translation that captures the idiom of the original prose (as opposed to Westernising it in an attempt to make it more palatable). I think in a novel that strives to explain the unseen social-construction divisions between China and the West this is something that had to happ...more The Fat Years is a bit of an oddity. It's part slow burning thriller, part near-future dystopia critique and part political exposition. There is something alien about the flow of the language and I have attributed this to a translation that captures the idiom of the original prose (as opposed to Westernising it in an attempt to make it more palatable). I think in a novel that strives to explain the unseen social-construction divisions between China and the West this is something that had to happen. The three part structure is also quite different from most novels in that almost all the plot takes place in the first two thirds with the final third being dedicated to an in-depth explanation of the theoretical political situation the near-future China finds itself in. It actually reminded me of Passage To India in this regard which also has a final third based around exposition rather than action. The main difference between them being that the final third of Passage To India arrests the momentum of the novel and is (for me) quite dull, wheras in The Fat Years the final third was actually the most engaging section.

There were definite flaws in the novel. The disapearence of Little Xi's son from the narrative being primary among them. A fantastically Machiavellian student he seems poised to play a major role (although it is possible to suggest that he does play a major role behind the scenes if you extrapolate his relationship with He Dongsheng that isn't confirmed in the text), he doesn't reapear after his diary/journal entry which up to that point had proved the most enjoyable section of the novel. It does also suffer from a relatively slovenly pace at times and I don't think it would have lost any of it's introspective weight if it had shed ten pages or so out of Old Chen's sections.

That said it does create a lovely balance between the political history of China and the potential future that may be just around the corner for the country, at the same time asking some sharp questions about freedom, happiness and the extent to which a government should interfere with society. It also posits questions about the set up of Western Europe and America that offer an intriguing persepective on just how much better we think we have things.

You can see how the events in this novel could be a precursor to a 1984 style future, but the most interesting aspect is to what extent the populous welcome and even assist in creating that future for themselves. I think the phrase the novel repeats is "would you swap a false Heaven for a real Hell?" (Or something along those lines anyway...)(less)

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Nov 03, 2012 Mircalla64 (free Liu Xiaobo) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cina

Dalla Dittatura del Proletariato a quella del Partito unico

In Cina nel 2013 alcune persone si accorgono di conservare il ricordo di passati tumulti e di una fase di transizione non proprio pacifica, mentre tutti intorno a loro non se ne ricordano affatto e sembrano incontenibilmente felici.
Ora, in un posto come la Cina contemporanea che una persona comune, non un membro del Partito, possa essere felice è praticamente impossibile, e non perchè chissà cosa gli accada, ma solo perchè, come dice Ai...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Lianne Burwell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary, library

I first heard about The Fat Years on the NPR website, and it sounded so intriguing that I immediately checked with my local library. It took me a while to work my way up the reservation list, but I'm finally getting to read it.

Originally published in 2009 in Hong Kong, The Fat Years takes place after the second economic collapse a couple of years after the problems back in 2008. The world economy is devestated, and still not recovered. Except for China. China came out of the second collapse stro...more I first heard about The Fat Years on the NPR website, and it sounded so intriguing that I immediately checked with my local library. It took me a while to work my way up the reservation list, but I'm finally getting to read it.

Originally published in 2009 in Hong Kong, The Fat Years takes place after the second economic collapse a couple of years after the problems back in 2008. The world economy is devestated, and still not recovered. Except for China. China came out of the second collapse strong, in what they call China's Golden Age of Ascendancy. Taiwan rejoins with mainland China, people are moving back. Everything is wonderful, if you are Chinese.

Except... Almost everyone seems to have forgotten one month between the collapse and the start of that Golden Age. A month with violence, crack-downs, food hoarding and fear. No one remembers, except for a very few.

The book follows a wide range of character, from the depressed human rights lawyer, the guitar player, the elderly odd-job man with an incredible history, a government official with insomnia, the lawyer's son who wants to work for the propoganda department, and so on, all circling around a writer with writer's block, who doesn't remember, but wants to figure out what happened.

If anything, the way we follow all sorts of characters, spiralling in on the end of the book, reminds me a little of a Woody Allen movie. There's humour here, as well, but also some serious consideration about propoganda and the willingness of the masses to be happy with a 'conterfeit paradise' instead of a 'good hell', as Lao Chen mentions at one point.

Unfortunately, the last quarter of a book changes from mystery novel to economics lecture on how the Chinese government brought about that Golden Age through deliberate manipulations. At this point the story slows to a crawl, and I found myself pushing through rather than being pulled along by the story. It lost a star for me as a result.

I can't speak for the accuracy of the translation, but it was very readable and low-key, which is good in a translation.(less)

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Dec 03, 2011 Bee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Bee by: International Fiction Reading Group Norwich Millenium Library

Shelves: international-fiction-reading-group, novels

Old Chen one of the main characters in the story is meeting some old friends one by one. He is happy with the state of China in a fictional 2013 after a world financial crises has left the United States less powerful. Apparently China has reached a "Golden Age of Ascendancy" and everyone is very very happy. Besides a few who are not. Interestingly many of these can remember that that "Age of Ascendancy" did not start exactly when the rest of the world fell apart. There were 28 days in between bu...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Bettie marked it as off-tbr-and-into-wpb

blurb - Narrated by David Tse

Banned in China, this controversial and politically charged novel tells the story of the search for an entire month erased from official Chinese history.

Beijing, sometime in the near future: a month has gone missing from official records. No one has any memory of it, and no one could care lessΓÇöexcept for a small circle of friends, who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the sinister cheerfulness and amnesia that have possessed the Chinese nation. When they...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Sven Nomadsson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

The tagline on this book, which surely gets it more sales than any other aspect is, “The Notorious Thriller They Banned in China”. With that gracing the cover, as well as some quality graphic design, who wouldn’t want to pick up this book. It may also help that the book is recommended by PEN. I chose to read it after the recommendation of a friend gave.

Was I surprised in any way with it? Yes, mainly because the only other book that I have read by a Chinese author was far more western in its stru...more The tagline on this book, which surely gets it more sales than any other aspect is, “The Notorious Thriller They Banned in China”. With that gracing the cover, as well as some quality graphic design, who wouldn’t want to pick up this book. It may also help that the book is recommended by PEN. I chose to read it after the recommendation of a friend gave.

Was I surprised in any way with it? Yes, mainly because the only other book that I have read by a Chinese author was far more western in its structure which was The Girl Who Plays Go by Shan Sha (an excellent read). For one the epilogue in this book ran from page 210 to 299, almost a third of the book. Why if it’s that long would anyone consider it an epilogue and not just part three or four?

The epilogue really stands out as well because it reads not so much as a story but a litany of possible actions that the Chinese government will take. It’s extremely political, which some would say justifies its ban, but at the same time hardly literary. Now this could simply be cultural differences in how novels are constructed, but for me it comes across more as the author seeking to sculpt his own warnings within the confines of a novel.

Others have done this, most notably George Orwell with 1984, Aldous Huxley with Brave New World and Ray Bradbury with Fahrenheit 451. The Fat Years resembles aspects of all of those books but unlike them it walks a fine line where the reader is left wondering if this new reality presented by China is really a dystopia or a utopia. If anything, it really does so only in its final pages during the exposition that is the epilogue, when one character explains all the actions that the Chinese government took and why – if people are happy and things are running smoothly yet people are ‘choosing’ to forget a period then how do you deem the system – good or bad?

Chan Koonchung places emphasis that nothing is settled in China and that there are coteries at work to upend the system significantly but not necessarily in the manner any freedom fighter looking for inspiration is going to appreciate. Rather the factions within the system appear to be vying for various changes to China, but for now – until the next swap in the central committee – things remain relatively stable. The future is likely to change, but then so has the past which may be the ultimate point of the book.

What I think aids this book is the protagonist, Old Chen, a journalist from Taiwan who is getting on in his years and is not the driving force behind the book but rather the one that tries to steer everyone through the difficulties and maintain the middle ground. It’s nice to have someone lead a book who isn’t spritely and willing to throw a punch or pull a gun at the first moment of tension, though at times and this may be a result of translation or the author simply not pursuing things, I felt like Old Chen was deliberately missing things or simply didn’t follow them up. This left the thriller description in my mind as a half-hearted attempt to designate a clear genre for this book, when like so many these days it just doesn’t fall into one category.

*Note: Copied from my blog at http://worldwritsmall.wordpress.com (less)

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Jun 18, 2013 Jon rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is not so much a story as much as it is a series of essays commenting on modern China and the direction it could walk towards in the coming years. Written in 2009 and set in 2013, reading this book at this period of time was quite surreal. While parts of the story have manifested itself into reality, such as China's quest for resources brought in from overseas and a decline in Chinese manufactured exports, others such as a imagined alliance with Japan to resist Western hegemony and an inter...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Noah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic and engaging premise, and the translation on this reveals a nice edge to the writing, especially for a writer from Asia. The rambling final section was fascinating though a little drawn out. I enjoyed the shifting in perspectives, and also the meta-commentary on the place of coincidence in fiction writing. Chan tries to cover and address just about every social topic in China that he can, and predictably some items are more insightfully discussed than others. Still, as someone who's sp...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Suzi rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't feel like I know enough about communism or China to properly appreciate this book. I like reading banned and controversial books and so it was the fact that this book is banned in China and sold under counters of certain shops which appealed to me. Having read it I feel I know more about China and it is a great story but I feel like most of the meaning has been lost on me. Having said that, it's a great thriller, really well developed, interesting characters and the descriptions of moder...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Jodi rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

Recommended to Jodi by: goodreads

Shelves: books-about-china

I just could not get into this book at all because it jumped around so much that the characters were never fully developed. Another way to say it, the book goes on and on and never really goes anywhere. I had a hard time suspending my disbelief at the end too that the government managed to hide a special drug in EVERYTHING its Chinese citizens drank so that they would forget about a horrible month in their country's history and feel "happy" all the time. No one would have know any better except...more

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Dec 26, 2012 P. E. Rempel rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Students of Chinese history; anyone interested in today's China

The story and characterization get bogged down by the context. The author explains his way through too much background which may not be of interest to the average reader, and even if it is this doesn't constitute good novel writing. One can sense the author ticking all the boxes as he summarizes the various facets of Chinese society. Through most of the book I found myself thinking: who cares about the missing month. Who cares about the characters. On the other hand, as a lucid snapshot of today...more

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May 14, 2012 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Can we really blame the common people for their historical amnesia? He asked himself. Should we force the younger generation to remember the suffering of their parent’s generation? Lao Chen then considered a new concept: “90% freedom.” We are already very free now: 90 percent, or even more, of all subjects can be freely discussed, and 90 percent, or even more, of all activities are no longer subject to government control…and furthermore, when the national situation persists, the state can alway...more “Can we really blame the common people for their historical amnesia? He asked himself. Should we force the younger generation to remember the suffering of their parent’s generation? Lao Chen then considered a new concept: “90% freedom.” We are already very free now: 90 percent, or even more, of all subjects can be freely discussed, and 90 percent, or even more, of all activities are no longer subject to government control…and furthermore, when the national situation persists, the state can always relax its restrictions, and permit up to 95 percent freedom. That would be little less than in the West. Western nations also have some restriction on freedom of speech and action. The German government restricts neo-Nazi organizations, and many states in the US deny homosexuals the freedom to marry. The only disparity is that, theoretically, the power of Western governments is given to them by the people, while in China, the people’s freedom is given to them by the government.”

In China, almost the entire country has forgotten an important violent month several years ago, and the few people who can remember or feel instinctively that something is missing are on a quest to find more people like them and expose the truth. It is a Matrix-esque vision, where everyone is programmed or brainwashed or in this book, drugged into a pleasant euphoria. I liked the political parts, the look into a country and a system of communism that is exotic to me, and the story kept my attention. The author had all these ideas and little monologues and big questions like above that make a novel more than just a nice story, but meaningful and something to think about when it is done. It is a cautionary tale that makes me feel hopeless since I get why people forget, why they go along with the status quo. It might be hardwired into us, the need to create harmony, and peace, and when you are in such an oppressed country, how can you even dream of freedom? Somehow China is ascendant right now, and this novel is a fascinating and frightening version of what the future might hold.
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Jun 07, 2013 George rated it 3 of 5 stars

George Orwell's 1984 comes to China. Chan has paid homeage to Orwell's classic well, and for that reason, the book stands on a firm foundation. Chan keeps the book going along at a brisk pace and it's an enjoyable read. The Fat Years even pulls off a nice twist to it's big brother (I couldn't help myself), unlike Orwell's dystopia, Chan's depiction of China is one not too far removed from the present-day reality.

Ultimatley though, The Fat Years is 1984-lite. Apart from the fiendishly unassuming...more

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Jun 13, 2013 Darrell Reimer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Chan Koonchung's The Fat Years is the first and final title I've put on my “Currently Reading” list. The book has received criticism here for being stilted and didactic, but I found it quite a breezy read — until the final 25 pages, when Chan props up a puppet character to recite an “alternate” Chinese history that accounts for the month that's gone missing from the Chinese collective memory.

The missing month poses no mystery whatsoever to Western readers, and probably not to Chinese readers, ei...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Carolina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally posted at: A Girl that Likes Books

First of all, let me tell you, this is probably one of the hardest books I've read in a while. Not because it was in French, but the subject was so dense! A friend of mine recommended this book and when he described it to me it seemed very interesting, so I borrowed it. Well, it was interesting, but oh my was it a hard read.

Just as what happened to me while reading The Colonel there were a lot of cultural references that I missed, even thought the boo...more

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