11th out of 38 books
—
86 voters
The Girl Who Played Go
In war-torn Manchuria of the 1930s, two lives briefly find peace over a game of go in Shan Sa's third novel, The Girl Who Played Go (translated by Adriana Hunter). The unnamed characters, a Japanese soldier stationed in China and a 16-year-old Manchurian girl, narrate their stories in alternating first-person chapters. For the girl, the struggles of Independent Manchuria t...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
October 12th 2004
by Vintage
(first published 2001)
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I can't imagine this book being as good as it was if I wasn't a go fan. (Which you can play right here or here.
Many of the axioms of Go were brought out in the book - life imitates Go, Go imitates life being the key one.
Others include - your enemies move is your move; keep both alive, for if one dies, neither are any good; a captured territory switches sides... etc...
The book also makes reference to many of the etiquette aspects of the game, such as placing a starting stone next to an opponents...more
Many of the axioms of Go were brought out in the book - life imitates Go, Go imitates life being the key one.
Others include - your enemies move is your move; keep both alive, for if one dies, neither are any good; a captured territory switches sides... etc...
The book also makes reference to many of the etiquette aspects of the game, such as placing a starting stone next to an opponents...more
The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa has a story laid out like a game of go. Each chapter is like a new move. Song of the Night, a young Manchurian girl plays the black side while the Japanese soldier takes the white. Anyone familiar with the game or with the history of Japan's invasion of China will know that this book won't be a happy one.
As with a game of go, the two characters don't meet or interact until half way through the book (page 127). As pieces are laid at opposite corners the soldier a...more
As with a game of go, the two characters don't meet or interact until half way through the book (page 127). As pieces are laid at opposite corners the soldier a...more
Feb 21, 2010
indri
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
asia-land,
love-through
#2010-17#
Siapa yang lebih kau cinta?
Negaramu atau cintamu sendiri yang tak kau kenal???
Novel dengan cara bertutur yang unik ini mengisahkan dua orang yang tidak saling kenal, namun bertemu dalam suatu Lapangan Seribu Angin, di luar kota Peking, dalam satu permainan Go, salah satu permainan tradisional Jepang dan China. Bersetting masa pendudukan Jepang di Manchuria, tokohnya hanya aku dan aku.
Aku yang pertama adalah gadis 16 tahun, yang sedang dalam masa puber, mudah jatuh cinta, suka bermain...more
Siapa yang lebih kau cinta?
Negaramu atau cintamu sendiri yang tak kau kenal???
Novel dengan cara bertutur yang unik ini mengisahkan dua orang yang tidak saling kenal, namun bertemu dalam suatu Lapangan Seribu Angin, di luar kota Peking, dalam satu permainan Go, salah satu permainan tradisional Jepang dan China. Bersetting masa pendudukan Jepang di Manchuria, tokohnya hanya aku dan aku.
Aku yang pertama adalah gadis 16 tahun, yang sedang dalam masa puber, mudah jatuh cinta, suka bermain...more
The good: The promising story. The last pages are kind of okay.
The bad: Nothing to do with Go. Choppy storytelling.
The ugly: Each paragraph contains about roughly one sentence.
Another case where the author tried too hard but failed to deliver. The story was told in the Chinese girl and the Japanese officer's perspectives. While the guy's part was somewhat well done, the girl seems to be an annoying bitch that I can't force myself to sympathize with. I skipped most of her dialogues with her frien...more
The bad: Nothing to do with Go. Choppy storytelling.
The ugly: Each paragraph contains about roughly one sentence.
Another case where the author tried too hard but failed to deliver. The story was told in the Chinese girl and the Japanese officer's perspectives. While the guy's part was somewhat well done, the girl seems to be an annoying bitch that I can't force myself to sympathize with. I skipped most of her dialogues with her frien...more
O local escolhido por Shan Sa para contar sua história é a Manchúria, que está localizada na parte externa da Grande Muralha da China e estava na zona de influência japonesa na época da história (entre as décadas de 20 e 30). Na Praça dos Mil Ventos, um local de encontro dos apreciadores do jogo de Go. Dois jovens estão destinados a terem seus destinos cruzados, ela uma jovem manchu de 16 anos e única mulher admitida no círculo dos apreciadores do jogo e ele, um jovem soldado japonês que faz par...more
The girl who played go_Gadis pemain go, saya kasih 3 bintang saja. Soalnya saya sempat tersesat di bab-bab awalnya. Ini tentang kisah bukan cinta biasa antara gadis abg dengan seorang tentara Jepang yang menyamar. Si gadis yang terjebak cinta segitiga mencoba membaca pikiran lawannya lewat permainan go. Dan tentara itu bukannya menjalankan tugasnya sebagai mata-mata malah asik bermain, terkagum oleh penyamarannya sendiri, terpesona pada gadis itu. Meskipun pada akhirnya tentara itu memilih mati....more
Set in 1930s Manchuria propped up by the Japanese, The Girl who Played Go is a work of historical fiction set in a time with lots of dramatic potential. Unfortunately, Beijing-born writer Shan Sa failed to make the historical moment come alive in this sparse, austere tale of love and war. Originally written in French, the story is told in short, alternating chapters by two unnamed first-person narrators: the first is the title character, a teenager from an educated family on the cusp of womanhoo...more
This book is a tale told in dream like prose. Life, love, betrayal and death all float by in short lyrical chapters that seem to be recalled from the dreamer's memory.
The story itself, while being compelling, isn't one that you haven't read before. If you have ever watched any old black and white movie from the 1940s, you know the ultimate ending from page one; but that isn't the point, the telling of the tale, like the game of the title, is about construction and the patterns made - life and ar...more
The story itself, while being compelling, isn't one that you haven't read before. If you have ever watched any old black and white movie from the 1940s, you know the ultimate ending from page one; but that isn't the point, the telling of the tale, like the game of the title, is about construction and the patterns made - life and ar...more
2,5 étoiles
En lisant ce roman, comme d’autres, j’ai tout d’abord trouvé le style détestable : les phrases sont souvent courtes, à l’indicatif présent, sans subordonnées ou presque, essentiellement descriptives des actions ; bref, beaucoup trop simplistes et monotones à mon goût. Assez loin dans ma lecture, le passage suivant m’a fait penser à la brièveté et à la simplicité des haïkus : "Les cigales poussent des cris stridents. L’odeur des feuilles brûlées par le soleil se confond avec le parfum...more
En lisant ce roman, comme d’autres, j’ai tout d’abord trouvé le style détestable : les phrases sont souvent courtes, à l’indicatif présent, sans subordonnées ou presque, essentiellement descriptives des actions ; bref, beaucoup trop simplistes et monotones à mon goût. Assez loin dans ma lecture, le passage suivant m’a fait penser à la brièveté et à la simplicité des haïkus : "Les cigales poussent des cris stridents. L’odeur des feuilles brûlées par le soleil se confond avec le parfum...more
I want to inhabit a world built of Shan Sa’s dreamy metaphors—A woman is bathing in thermal springs, her body glistening under the water where it writhes and twists like a slender leaf, or The moon looks like a line of chalk drawn on the sky. Even her name (a pen name) has the alluring meaning: rustle of the wind in the mountains.
The author, born in Beijing, began writing poetry at age 6 and received her first national poetry award at 12. In her 20s she moved to Paris to study philosophy and app...more
The author, born in Beijing, began writing poetry at age 6 and received her first national poetry award at 12. In her 20s she moved to Paris to study philosophy and app...more
I wanted to like this book--the setting, the characters, and the dual narrators all drew me in. But while several images still stay with me (the girl and the soldier playing Go, the revolutionaries the girl meets up with and romances, the soldier disguising himself and sneaking into town), overall the novel didn't resonate with me. The writing was strong, but limiting--the spare prose actually made the situation carry less weight, and caused the narrators to blend together into one voice (I boug...more
I began reading this book believing it to be one thing (about a young Chinese girl who plays the ancient game of 'go') and then finding out it was something else entirely. The edition I have doesn't have a description on the back, just reviews of the book and I had honestly bought it knowing nothing about the author or book. It was at the bookstore, it sounded intriguing, so I bought it. I shelved it at some point and only recently brought it back out again.
The book is narrated by two people in...more
The book is narrated by two people in...more
The story is centered around two people, a young 16 year old Chinese girl in Manchuria and a slightly older (24ish) Japanese soldier stationed in China. At first the very short alternating character chapters really put me off of the story, I found it really disconcerting by all of the jumping back and forth. I’m not at all knowledgeable about the Japanese invasion/holding of China during this period, and I know nothing about the game of Go, it was a lot of information to try to digest in the beg...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
There's not much to complain about besides my own personal annoyance with incredibly serious tales of true love. I just never could get into the Jane Austen hushed and proper variety of love. Oh *gasp* the sight of her round white forearm! My fan's shadow caressing her makes me fill with a strange pleasure that shames me!! Oh, I am shocked and titillated by her seductive non-covered smile!!!! (WHAT A SLUT!!!!!!!!) At least Victorian ladies can be cheeky or witty. Then the juicy parts were gross,...more
It is the 1930s, in Manchuria. Manchuria is occupied by the Japanese. The girl attends school, plays Go in the town square, and consoles her sister in her unhappy marriage. Soon, her best friend is to be sent back to their country town for marriage to an old man. The girl meets and falls for a revolutionary student--whom she doesn't know is a revolutionary. She begins playing Go with a stranger, who is a Japanese soldier in disguise.
A simply told tale of love in a time of war. A fast and easy r...more
A simply told tale of love in a time of war. A fast and easy r...more
I read this book in two sittings...most of it today. It took me a little while to get into the book; one, because each chapter alternates narration between the girl who played go and the soldier, but I didn't realize that right away. The other reason it look me a while to get into it were stopping to read several footnotes from the author explaining characters and details about Chinese history. Not having much knowledge of Chinese history made it slower to read.
Historical notes notwithstanding,...more
Historical notes notwithstanding,...more
From reading the synopsis for this book, I kept getting the idea that this is a love story between the girl and the soldier. But after reading it, I feel that it is less a love story, and more one of intrigue, lust, passion, etc. If I'm not mistaken, this book was originally written in French and then translated into English, which is a testament to both the writer and translator (Adriana Hunter)'s skills that the intensity of the story was preserved in the translation.
I thought the author did...more
I thought the author did...more
The Girl who played Go to opowieść o japońskim żołnierzu i młodej Chince na tle wojny japońskko-chińskiej. Powieść zbudowana jest z krótkich rozdziałów, w których, na zwór rozgrywki go, bohaterowie, na zmiane ,opowiadają swoje historie. Podkreślam 'swoje', gdyż do ich spotkania (również przy planszy go) dochodzi dopiero w połowie powieści.
Historia wciągnęła mnie od pierwszych stron. Czasami żałowałam, że nie możemy lepiej poznać jej bohaterów takich jak rodzice czy Huong. Z drugiej strony rozmum...more
Historia wciągnęła mnie od pierwszych stron. Czasami żałowałam, że nie możemy lepiej poznać jej bohaterów takich jak rodzice czy Huong. Z drugiej strony rozmum...more
Histoire d'amour tragique sur fond d'invasion et d'occupation de la Chine par l'armée impériale japonaise dans les années 1930. Mystère des personnages dont les chapitres alternent les points de vue d'abord en Chine et au Japon, jusqu'à la rencontre de la jeune chinoise et du jeune officier, s'affrontant au jeu de go, vers une dénouement inattendu.
Un récit plus complexe qu'il n'y parait, composé de multiples intrigues secondaires dans chacun des camps, résistance et torture, insouciance de l'ad...more
Un récit plus complexe qu'il n'y parait, composé de multiples intrigues secondaires dans chacun des camps, résistance et torture, insouciance de l'ad...more
I was captivated by this book, but not from the beginning. At first the way its chapters were organized startled me. However the story quickly made me forget this uneasiness.
I didn't know what to expect from such a book, didn't know anything about GO and was rather ignorant about what happened in History at that time. Then why did I choose to read it? My mother recommended it to me, this was enough for me to give it a try and I don't regret it.
The writing of the author wrapped me up into the st...more
I didn't know what to expect from such a book, didn't know anything about GO and was rather ignorant about what happened in History at that time. Then why did I choose to read it? My mother recommended it to me, this was enough for me to give it a try and I don't regret it.
The writing of the author wrapped me up into the st...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The Girl Who Played Go is a short novel about a young Chinese/Machurian girl and a Japanese soldier. The chapters alternate between the two characters and the chapters build in length as the story goes on. As someone reviewed earlier, this is apparently to symbolise the movements and momentum of a game of go.
The story itself, although the two main characters met and build their relationship whilst playing a game of go, does not focus only on the game. It instead describes the two separate lives...more
The story itself, although the two main characters met and build their relationship whilst playing a game of go, does not focus only on the game. It instead describes the two separate lives...more
This book was very beautiful and quick to read. It's a demonstration of how something doesn't have to be complex to be a literary accomplishment.
I loved the narration style. The alternating back and forth meant that I never got bored, and most of the time, the stories of both narrators were interesting - the girl's narration a little more so.
The thing I had the hardest time clicking with was the man's narration. He came from a traditional Japanese family with the usual mores and customs regardin...more
I loved the narration style. The alternating back and forth meant that I never got bored, and most of the time, the stories of both narrators were interesting - the girl's narration a little more so.
The thing I had the hardest time clicking with was the man's narration. He came from a traditional Japanese family with the usual mores and customs regardin...more
Disjointed storytelling. Perhaps it's the translation ("sabre" is not the translation of "katana")? I wanted to like this a lot as the game of go is facinating, and certainly does reflect life. If you've never played the game, it's sometimes called a "sharing" game, as both participants must make compromises to win. But the storyline of this book fails to get any of the interesting aspects of the game across. Rather we have some very adolescent looks at both coming of age and combat. Neither wer...more
The alternation between the narrators felt very mechanical and contrived. I suppose the construct was meant to echo the game of Go itself, but I did not really learn about or through the game. The descriptions of how Go related to the characters had to be taken on faith. Despite being immersed in their streams of consciousness, the characters remained flat and cold.
The writer does have a nice crisp style and there were some very evocative descriptions, but overall, the book just didn't move me....more
The writer does have a nice crisp style and there were some very evocative descriptions, but overall, the book just didn't move me....more
Jun 21, 2011
David
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literary,
historical,
female-author,
war,
romance,
female-protagonist,
french-literature,
china,
world-war-2,
go
This is a tragic love story that ends brutally. Shan Sa's novel doesn't seem to have lost much in the translation from French to English; the voices of the two protagonists are beautifully rendered, one male and one female. I was a little dubious about a female literary romance author writing a male character from a first person POV, but the Japanese soldier is believable, flawed and a little vulnerable but still mostly full of sex and violence. Still, it's the Chinese girl who really comes aliv...more
mình thích ý tưởng của tác giả trong cuốn sách. đời như một bàn cờ, mỗi người đi một nước và ta có được trò chơi số phận sau những nước đi ấy. lần lượt từng nguời tung ra định hướng và quyết định của mình, thế trận được giăng bày và rồi kết quả ngã ngũ. sau một ván cờ, bất chấp kẻ thắng người thua, tất cả được trả về với nguyên bản ban đầu: hư không để rồi tiếp theo, có chơi tiếp hay không là một ẩn số quyết định cho đôi bên.
câu chuyện hay :)
câu chuyện hay :)
Short, sensual (and I don't just mean restrainedly sexual), mysterious, and with an exciting finale. Now that I remember this book, I'm going to go try another one of hers, if she has any more.
I read this when I first moved to southern california. Almost everyone else in my apartment complex was asian, including my chinese malayasian flat mates, and I felt like I was in the world of the book a bit. I love reading a book about a foreign place when I am in a foreign place.
It might deserve more of...more
I read this when I first moved to southern california. Almost everyone else in my apartment complex was asian, including my chinese malayasian flat mates, and I felt like I was in the world of the book a bit. I love reading a book about a foreign place when I am in a foreign place.
It might deserve more of...more
Much like a game of Go, this book is structured as a series of short chapters or turns that alternate between two protagonists. The characters are brought together by Go, yet remain divided by being on opposite sides of the board and their slow series of back and forth moves is suddenly overthrown by a dramatic shift at the end as the structured opposition of Go is replaced by the chaos of war. This book is a light, fast read that gave me the urge to attempt a similar experiment with form and th...more
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Shan Sa is a French author born in Beijing in 1972. The Girl Who Played Go was the first of her novels to be published outside of France. It won the Goncourt des Lycéens Prize in 2001 and earned critical acclaim worldwide. Her second novel to appear in English translation is "The Empress" (2006).
Shan Sa was born on October 26, 1972 in Beijing to a scholarly family . Her real name is Yan Ni Ni, the...more
More about Shan Sa...
Shan Sa was born on October 26, 1972 in Beijing to a scholarly family . Her real name is Yan Ni Ni, the...more
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“Happiness is something you lay siege to, it is a battle like a game of go. I will take hold of all the pain and snuff it out.”
—
16 people liked it
“Dying is so simple. A fleeting moment of suffering. In the blink of an eye you are over the threshold, into another world. No more pain, no more fears. You sleep so well there.
Dying is like rubbing snow together, setting fire to a whole winter of cold and ice.”
—
12 people liked it
More quotes…
Dying is like rubbing snow together, setting fire to a whole winter of cold and ice.”

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