Knopf Canada welcomes one of China’s most acclaimed and bestselling writers–author of Raise the Red Lantern–to the list... read full description
reviews
Dec 15, 2009
Michelle
rated it: 
Retelling the story of one woman’s journey in search for her husband, who was brought to build the Great Wall, this story follows the hardships and challenges that Binu had to face as the result of her decision to go after her husband, Qiliang.
The story starts off with the story of how people who live in the areas around North Mountain have been forbidden to cry. Even babies and young children are taught to never shed tears from their eyes. But to cry is only natural, after all, and More...
The story starts off with the story of how people who live in the areas around North Mountain have been forbidden to cry. Even babies and young children are taught to never shed tears from their eyes. But to cry is only natural, after all, and More...
Apr 23, 2011
Ellie
rated it: 
Based on the Chinese myth of Meng Jiangnu who brought down the Great Wall with her tears of mourning, this instalment of the Canongate Myths series has ended up a surreal fairytale against a backdrop of a country in despair.
Binu comes from a village where crying from your eyes is forbidden as doing so will mean your death is imminent. The women of the village get round this by shedding their tears via various body parts. When her husband is taken away to work on the Great Wall, Binu More...
Binu comes from a village where crying from your eyes is forbidden as doing so will mean your death is imminent. The women of the village get round this by shedding their tears via various body parts. When her husband is taken away to work on the Great Wall, Binu More...
Apr 10, 2011
Jesse
rated it: 
This story is about a womans jouney to find her husband.
We start the book thinking that she is incredibly devoted and willing to sacrifice her life i. An order to bring her husband (who has been taken away to work on building the Great Wall) his winter clothes.
The body of the story shows us all of her trials and tribulations as she trys to reach her husband. She is robbed, molested, bought and sold several times (including to a dead man) and imprissoned. However, in More...
We start the book thinking that she is incredibly devoted and willing to sacrifice her life i. An order to bring her husband (who has been taken away to work on building the Great Wall) his winter clothes.
The body of the story shows us all of her trials and tribulations as she trys to reach her husband. She is robbed, molested, bought and sold several times (including to a dead man) and imprissoned. However, in More...
Aug 11, 2011
Janneke
rated it:
De Chinese auteur Su Tong o.a. bekend van het prachtig verfilmde “De rode lantaarn” (Raise the Red Lantern) schrijft in het voorwoord van “Binu en de Chinese Muur “ dat de legende van Binu's jammerklacht tegen de Chinese Muur, die officieel bekend staat als Meng Jiangnü de afgelopen tweeduizend jaar in China van generatie op generatie is doorverteld. Zijn vertelling is niet meer dan een laatste versie alleen met dit verschil: de legende reist deze keer buiten de grenzen van China.
Su Tong pl More...
Su Tong pl More...
Dec 27, 2008
Stepan
rated it:
I wasn't familiar with the myth of Meng Jiangnu upon which Binu is based. As such, the book didn't really resonate with me and I found it, at times, hair pullingly ponderous and slow.
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Aug 27, 2011
Karen
rated it:
A retelling of the 'Myth of Meng' - no, I didn't know it either - which in this version tells the tale of Binu's odyssey to the Great Wall to take winter clothes to her husband who has been conscripted to work there. He is dead, she cries. She cries a lot. She cries so much that a section of the Great Wall collapses. I suppose this is a tale of tremendous devotion, but unfortunately I never got to like or admire Binu; she was mostly annoying and in the end somewhat pathetic. All the other charac
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Mar 20, 2010
Chris
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 04, 2009
Paul
rated it:
This one is very good, and got me interested in some new mythology I had not heard before from China. It's structured like an odyssey, and the main character is someone you can really get behind. The great wall looms large in this book, as it is being built and affecting the lives of all around. It's one of the better books in the Canongate Myths series, though none seem to be able to compete with the Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood.
Jun 04, 2009
Katie M.
rated it:
This may have been an extraordinary book and I didn't realize it. Maybe it's a very Chinese narrative and I'm a very American reader? But I found it PAINFUL to get through. Slogging through the grim, unengaging, everything-that-could-go-wrong-will-go-wrong narrative felt kind of like pulling all the pots and pans off my shelf one by one and hitting myself over the head with them.
Nov 22, 2011
Anna
rated it:
Started off sounding cool enough, but became too surreal (to the point of ridiculousness). Felt, at the end, like all the loose ends were just left loose. Also, most of the characters Binu comes across on her journey are just so unpleasant (to put it nicely), reading it sometimes felt like work.
May 05, 2010
Su Tong is a very good writer but I'm not sure about this one - it could be the flat translation. I'll give it another go in Chinese. I'm about to read his new book in the original language. It's a pity there's no way to add Chinese books to this site.
Dec 24, 2008
This is one of the Cannon Gate series on Myth. I am reading the whole series with my Mom and daughter. Great tales, by great writers. The project is 100 books on myth all by solicicted authors. Nice
Jan 27, 2011
Carolyn
rated it:
Meh. Interesting. I picked this up when I wanted to learn more about China and Chinese folklore. I'd have liked it to be better, more entertaining, but it was very interesting.
Jan 29, 2012
Aldawen
rated it: 
Nein, das war alles andere als überzeugend. Zu langatmig in den Details mit einer Protagonisten, die als Handlungsträgerin leider gar nicht taugte. Dazu kommt meine persönliche Aversion gegen lernresistente und passive Charaktere. Su Tong hat sicher eine Aussage, vielleicht gar eine Moral in seiner Geschichte, aber Form, Umsetzung und streckenweise auch die Sprache ließen zu wünschen übrig.
Jul 11, 2008
Richard
rated it:
A wonderful myth, but this retelling of it lacks energy. I don't know if the fault for this lies in oversentimentality on Su Tong's part, or through some less than insightful translation, but this quickly became very skimmable, unlike Su Tong's other books. I would recommend easily Rice or Raise the Red Lantern over this one.
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May 07, 2009
Milan/zzz
rated it:
Užasno me smara. Potpuno neočekivano. Ovo je prva knjiga "Mitova" sa kojom se davim već mesecima. Pročitaću je svakako ali sad samo želim da je maknem sa "trenutno čitam"-liste.
Za sad ću je oceniti jednom zvezdom a kad je završim ukoliko budem mislio da je to malo (u šta čisto sumnjam) dodaću joj.
Za sad ću je oceniti jednom zvezdom a kad je završim ukoliko budem mislio da je to malo (u šta čisto sumnjam) dodaću joj.
Feb 22, 2010
Kati
rated it:
Joyless. Just about everyone our weak, superstitious, sobbing heroine meets is villainous at worst, uninterested at best. A total slog I'd have abandoned halfway through if it weren't part of the Canongate Myths series. And then the book ends as if they'd forgotten to print the last five pages. Ugh.
Feb 27, 2011
Jackie
rated it:
Not a great read. It did have some redeeming features, enough to get thorough the book, but not enough to recommend it to others.
Feb 07, 2012
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