Brilliant and illuminating, this astonishing debut novel by the award-winning writer Yiyun Li is set in China in the late 1970s, when Beijing was r...
read full description
reviews
Apr 02, 2009
Melani
rated it: 
This is a very well written book. It was like being given the power to see into the minds of men and women. The pity was that their minds were so wracked and sickened that you found yourself reading faster and faster so that you could escape from them -- escape from the spaces in peoples minds and lives that were so intimate -- escape from a despair that was so cloying you could hardly tolerate it. I did not give this book four stars because some of the incidents in the novel were so graphic
More...
2 comments
like
(8 people liked it)
Feb 25, 2009
Cheryl
rated it: 
This story takes place back in the seventies. A time when China was dealing with the Tiananmen Square uprising.
The Gu family was like any other family. They lived good quiet lives in the town of Muddy River. That all changed ten years ago. The Gu’s daughter, Gu Shan, a free spirit was raised like anyone else in the beliefs of Communism and China’s leader, Chairman Mao. Shan started thinking for herself and renounced her beliefs in communism. Shan was taken away. That was ten years a More...
The Gu family was like any other family. They lived good quiet lives in the town of Muddy River. That all changed ten years ago. The Gu’s daughter, Gu Shan, a free spirit was raised like anyone else in the beliefs of Communism and China’s leader, Chairman Mao. Shan started thinking for herself and renounced her beliefs in communism. Shan was taken away. That was ten years a More...
2 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 04, 2009
Gina
rated it:
An exquisite telling of an absolutely brutal story. The book begins on the day of the grisly execution of an allegedly counterrevolutionary woman in a small town in China two years after the death of Mao. It continues with the story of how several memorable townspeople are affected by the aftermath of this wrongful death. Do they protest, turn away, submit, betray? It doesn't seem to make a difference as they iron fist of tyranny seems to gradually tighten around each of them in turn, squeezing
More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Aug 12, 2011
Caitlin
rated it:
Clear-eyed portrayal of the humiliation and degradation of inhabitants of one village in 1970’s Communist China. Family life has completely broken down: the Party has replaced parents, and allegiance is only to oneself, by sacrificing others. Superstition lingers in the minds of the people – worry about ghosts, bad luck, and whether or not to kill your daughters. The most interesting paradox is that women were considered equal to men in Communist China, but daughters were still inferior and m
More...
Apr 25, 2010
Mark
rated it: 
A novel of abject misery and the horrible things that desperate people do to each other when they're pushed. Is it one of the works of Cormac McCarthy? Perhaps Faulkner?
Nope! It's "The Vagrants" by Yiyun Li. Take nearly enough characters to stack a George RR Martin epic, put them in rural China shortly after the Cultural Revolution, sprinkle liberally with poisoned dogs, tattletale neighbors, guilt, repression, and pure asininity and you get The Vagrants.
I More...
Nope! It's "The Vagrants" by Yiyun Li. Take nearly enough characters to stack a George RR Martin epic, put them in rural China shortly after the Cultural Revolution, sprinkle liberally with poisoned dogs, tattletale neighbors, guilt, repression, and pure asininity and you get The Vagrants.
I More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 14, 2009
Jason
rated it:
A girl is going to be executed. She had been a child revolutionary in Chairman Mao's cultural revolution and then she had second thoughts, writing them in her journal. Her boyfriend turned her in for her doubts and she received ten years. As she was about to be released from prison, she was retried and sentenced to death.
This is not her story, however. This is a story of her parents, of the crippled girl who's parents think of her as a burden, of a small boy and his dog, of a social More...
This is not her story, however. This is a story of her parents, of the crippled girl who's parents think of her as a burden, of a small boy and his dog, of a social More...
May 12, 2009
Stephanie
rated it: 
A WRITER who was raised in one culture but writes in the language of another is a precious commodity for readers from the latter.
The writer is literally a translator of one culture into another: He is fully aware of the unique quirks of his birth culture that are alien, even incomprehensible, to his adopted one; yet because of this knowledge, he is also able to ensure that as little nuances as possible are lost in translation.
The Western world has been relatively lucky More...
The writer is literally a translator of one culture into another: He is fully aware of the unique quirks of his birth culture that are alien, even incomprehensible, to his adopted one; yet because of this knowledge, he is also able to ensure that as little nuances as possible are lost in translation.
The Western world has been relatively lucky More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
May 02, 2009
Michelle
rated it:
(This review was originally published on The Rumpus: http://therumpus.net/2009/03/no-one-is-i...)
When I think of Beijing in 1998, I think of a worn-out train bound for a town fifty miles from the capital. Across from me sat a Chinese man in his late twenties who, for a while, would not meet my eyes. Only after the train began moving, the noise of the rails nearly deafening, did he lean forward across the little table that separated us and say, “English?”
I nodded, grateful More...
When I think of Beijing in 1998, I think of a worn-out train bound for a town fifty miles from the capital. Across from me sat a Chinese man in his late twenties who, for a while, would not meet my eyes. Only after the train began moving, the noise of the rails nearly deafening, did he lean forward across the little table that separated us and say, “English?”
I nodded, grateful More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Apr 09, 2009
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
Nisi Shawl
A Review of The Vagrants
By Yiyun Li
Random House
In the wake of China’s Cultural Revolution, wrecked lives did not simply right themselves and continue on as before. The Vagrants, the first novel by award-winning short-story author Yiyun Li, examines human flotsam caught in the backwater eddies of the fictional late-’70s provincial town of Muddy River. The book opens as the spring equinox dawns. Teacher Gu rises from More...
Nisi Shawl
A Review of The Vagrants
By Yiyun Li
Random House
In the wake of China’s Cultural Revolution, wrecked lives did not simply right themselves and continue on as before. The Vagrants, the first novel by award-winning short-story author Yiyun Li, examines human flotsam caught in the backwater eddies of the fictional late-’70s provincial town of Muddy River. The book opens as the spring equinox dawns. Teacher Gu rises from More...
Jun 23, 2010
Dora
rated it:
I really wanted to like this book. I'm particularly interested in this era of China, and in general I love reading fiction that takes place in a culture with extreme political change.
In some ways, this novel gave me a bit of what I was looking for- a portrait of life in an ever-changing cultural landscape, where attitudes and traditions all mean something new entirely.
But unfortunately, it was just far too bleak for me personally. I am not saying I need sugar-coating; ma More...
In some ways, this novel gave me a bit of what I was looking for- a portrait of life in an ever-changing cultural landscape, where attitudes and traditions all mean something new entirely.
But unfortunately, it was just far too bleak for me personally. I am not saying I need sugar-coating; ma More...
Apr 22, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it:
This book is not one for the faint of heart, or easily depressed. In fact, despite its excellent prose and purpose, I probably would recommend it whole-heartedly to those readers who 1) are really interested in the social and political black hole of Communist China 2) really interested in the debilitating effects of a totalitarian state on its populace 3) like to remain in a state of constant depression.
On the other hand, given the author is of Chinese descent, and an Iowa Writer's W More...
On the other hand, given the author is of Chinese descent, and an Iowa Writer's W More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 23, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
The Vagrants is Li Yiyun's first novel, set in the People's Republic of China in 1979 in a provincial town called Muddy River. China's Cultural Revolution is over and Mao has been dead for three years. Most of the action takes place between two executions -- the first that of Gu Shan. When she was fourteen, she had been a "fanatic believer in Chairman Mao and his cultural revolution," but then changed her mind as she got older, becoming an "adamant nonbeliever and a harsh critic o
More...
Oct 05, 2009
Alice
rated it:
I'm so grateful for writers such as Yiyun Li who, through their novels, take us places we've never really known nor understood. In THE VAGRANTS, Li draws a Breugel-like picture of a small town in post-Maoist China where family and community relationships show the strains of life under the Cultural Revolution and the uncertainties that follwed. Teacher Gu and his wife collapse when their daughter is executed as a counterrevolutionary; 12-year old Nini deals with life as a cripple and the oldest
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 11, 2009
McKay
rated it:
iyun Li, author of celebrated short-story collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (whose title story was turned into a movie), says the plight of her first novel arose from questions she had regarding a real-life execution in post-Mao China. Questions like: Why wouldn't parents bury their only child after her killing?
The answers, like life and death in 1979 Muddy River, stem from a state of terror and broken humanity, of propaganda and quiet hope. Mostly, it's grim. Trash collector More...
The answers, like life and death in 1979 Muddy River, stem from a state of terror and broken humanity, of propaganda and quiet hope. Mostly, it's grim. Trash collector More...
Jun 14, 2011
Emma
rated it:
This is a book club read and from that point of view, one of the best I think we have read - even though I haven't rated it particularly highly here. We had one of the longest and most interesting discussions following reading this book that we have ever had; the majority of this was about the subject matter rather than the book necessarily, however. I know next to nothing about the 20th century history of China (or any other history of China for that matter) and this book was a really strong
More...
Jul 24, 2009
Amy
rated it:
The events in this book all take place over the course of a few days in the late 70s in a small village in rural China. It opens with a woman in her late twenties being put to death for "counterrevolutionary" activities. The novel's told in 3rd person omniscient, shifting between ten or so narrators in the town, ranging from the woman's parents, to an old classmate and friend, to a young pervert, to a disabled girl. The book has a very old-fashioned feel, and is really very intricat
More...
Apr 15, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
rated it:
Reviewers were clearly impressed by The Vagrants, especially noteworthy because it is Li's first novel. They valued its memorable and nuanced characters, its simultaneous severity and humor, and the way Li creates moral ambiguity without diminishing the bravery and sacrifice of Chinese dissidents. The only complaint was that Li's portrayal of the misery of Muddy River can be somewhat overwhelming; readers "may grow numbed, or more strangely (and disturbingly), inured under its assault"
More...
May 03, 2010
Christine
rated it:
I'm not sure how to describe what I felt about this book... I enjoyed it, but there seemed to be something lacking at the end, but perhaps that is just the enduring sadness of the characters.
This novel is engaging and captivating and yet very foreign; the time and place are so far removed for me that I had difficulty understanding a few characters and their motivations, specifically Bashi (八十). However, the glimpse into a very tremulous period in modern Chinese history and the peo More...
This novel is engaging and captivating and yet very foreign; the time and place are so far removed for me that I had difficulty understanding a few characters and their motivations, specifically Bashi (八十). However, the glimpse into a very tremulous period in modern Chinese history and the peo More...
Aug 16, 2009
Pbwritr
rated it:
Excellent book. Set in a small city in China, Muddy River, following numerous characters around during the course of just a couple of weeks in 1979, shortly after the Cultural Revolution ended. Gu Shan is being executed as a counterrevolutionary, and the actions of a number of people intersect each other, impact upon each other, and have mostly negative consequences. Deftly woven into the narrative is a clear-eyed view of life in the Communist state--public outhouses, tiny houses, starvation, be
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 16, 2009
Mbarkle
rated it:
This is a book written in English, but set in village in China in the late 1970s. I'm skipping a plot summary, but the story basically deals with a group of mostly illiterate villagers, trying to deal with the effect of an oppressive political regime on their daily lives. It's a situation where people don't know who they can turn to or trust, which wreaks havoc in their personal lives and tears apart families.
The writing style is very simple and spare. It's easy to read, but behin More...
The writing style is very simple and spare. It's easy to read, but behin More...
Feb 01, 2009
Bob
rated it:
Powerful and sad and tender and brutal. It might break your heart, but it will be worth it.
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 08, 2011
Chensa
rated it:
Bookclub---Lauren Nemroff reviews this for Amazon: “During the Cultural Revolution countless unspeakable acts went down in the otherwise unremarkable industrial town of Muddy River. Lovers betrayed lovers, children denounced their parents, and neighbors became sworn enemies. A few years later, the townspeople have convened at the public stadium to witness the execution of Gu Shan. A Red Guard leader in her youth, she has received the death penalty for her counterrevolutionary writings and unrep
More...
Dec 08, 2010
Jesse
rated it:
this was a readable book and contained all the elements of "literature" (i.e. realistic characters, meaningful interactions, controled and solid prose, etc.) yet yiyun li seems to be missing something with her first novel. she has the iowa writers workshop stamped all over her work, especially iowa's current international flavor (nam le, sarah shun-lien bynum, lan samantha chang, daniel alarcon, etc.), which in recent years has overtaken its white male alcoholic/mental breakdown s
More...
Jul 19, 2010
Kasondra
rated it:
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I would have liked to. The execution of Gu Shan tears apart most of the family units in this novel. Gu Shan is displayed as a martyr even though she had participated in heinous crimes before her second-thoughts lead to her imprisonment and future execution. This made it difficult to believe that people would risk imprisonment and death to rally behind this girl's "wrongful" death. Yes, she may have been executed to serve a p
More...
Oct 08, 2011
Connor
rated it:
There is one particularly impressive aspect of this book; the abundance of characters. The typical story works by getting you into the mind of one character. This story begins by getting you into the mind of one of the characters, then immediately pops into her husbands mind, then pops into an interesting passerby's mind, and then pops into... Through this technique, a cast of core characters are developed. But don't think they're the only characters; each of them is surrounded by even more char
More...
Aug 10, 2010
This is a harrowing read, especially if one has also read "What Has That to Do with Me?" In that essay, which is included in A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, Li writes:
I am not sure how to tell the story I want to tell you. Sometimes when I think about the story, it becomes a grotesque kaleidoscope spinning with patterns and colors that startle my eyes. Sometimes I have to shut my eyes in order not to see.More...
And shut my mind's eye so I can stop imagining.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 30, 2009
Brian
rated it:
A fascinating book about the ripple effects of the cultural revolution on a small village in China. While the novel centers around the public renunciation and execution of a former communist who has changed ideologies, Li shows how different members of the village are affected by her actions and the party's decision to execute her. It is incredibly sad, but also strangely fascinating to see what village life was like, and how the party failed to meet the basic needs of these people. What I found
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 24, 2009
Travis
rated it:
I liked the style of the writing. The book is well thought out, and rings true from what I know of recent Chinese history. The story is fiction, but is rooted in real events. It isn't a happy story. Socialism didn't make for very many happy endings for the billions of people that passed through it - another element that rings true in the book. The story shows how the system of government that the people lived under made it difficult for a virtuous people to arise. Any character in the book with
More...
Sep 15, 2010
Maja
rated it:
I was completely enthralled by this book. It follows many different people in a town called Muddy River in China after the death of Chairman Mao. It all starts with the execution of a young woman and one way or another all of the persons in the book know of her or know her personally. The persons have a wide range in ages and social status and I found it very fascinating to see how the Cultural Revolution had affected the different people. The most interesting person, to me, was the enigma Bashi
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 05, 2011
Paul
rated it:
Liked this a lot. Pretty bleak, but not maudlin. Just about every character is interesting, even the ones who aren't at first. I loved Bashi, and Tong, who was very boring at the beginning, turned out to be one of the most sentimental and heartbreaking (during the dog search portion) and then one of the chillingest. Much development and change occurring over the course of just 340 pages. Lots going on here, but never feels overweighted or bogged down. Still an enjoyable (er, enjoyable may not be
More...
