Questions About Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

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Answered Questions (9)

I have this book for about a year ,but, i haven't read it yet because i watched the movie first something i rarely do,by the way the movie was terrific!?

Jan Edmonds I'll check out the movie. The book was so delightful, I would love to see it depicted. Thanks!…moreI'll check out the movie. The book was so delightful, I would love to see it depicted. Thanks!(less)

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I really enjoyed this book, but am a bit flummoxed by the ending. Anyone have thoughts about what the seamstress learned from Balzac, what the point was?

cc I honestly was under the impression that, while Luo was intent on making her civilized, she was intent on using him to become more worldly so that she…moreI honestly was under the impression that, while Luo was intent on making her civilized, she was intent on using him to become more worldly so that she could leave her mountain village.(less)

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Can someone please let me know what audience you think this is suited for. Do you think it is appropriate or is the romance a little too much?

Alex Flinn I think it's appropriate for anyone who is interested in reading it (actually interested in it, not reading it because their mom suggests it). It's a …moreI think it's appropriate for anyone who is interested in reading it (actually interested in it, not reading it because their mom suggests it). It's a serious book. It has some references to the fact that sex has taken place, but it's not explicit, and the book is not a romance. Rather, it is a story of the Cultural Revolution, which is valuable. (less)

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What is the name of the narrator?

cc I don't think it was ever stated.…moreI don't think it was ever stated.(less)

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Does anyone have any Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress book club questions?

Sara
1) Anyone have thoughts about what the seamstress learned from Balzac, what the point was?
2) What can you say about the ending?
3) Does anyone know the…more
1) Anyone have thoughts about what the seamstress learned from Balzac, what the point was?
2) What can you say about the ending?
3) Does anyone know the significance of why the scene of Luo and the Little Seamstress wading in the water as Luo throws his keys is told from three different points of view? Why specifically that scene?
4) Is this a last-page embrace of feminism after a book full of male objectification of women?
5) Would you read it again? Would you recommend it to anyone?
6) Imagine for a moment that all the books you own are taken from you, pulped or set ablaze, labeled as libelous, unworthy to what your new home now thinks and practices. What would you do? How would this make you feel?
7) Could you go from a world full of books to one without? Would you be able to keep the treasure of novels secret?
8) Are the two teenage boys ever allowed to return to the city? Do they ever find more forbidden books to read? Do they marry and stay in the village?
9) What happened to the story of the two boys mining for coal? Why did they stop all of a sudden?
10) Is the author trying to show that the individual autonomy Westerners value so greatly is a double-edged sword?
11) If the boys are so constrained, why are they always running around freely? Why did this random Latin-speaking preacher suddenly appear and become so important?
12) What happens when the Little Seamstress does supposedly take the lessons of Western literature to heart and begins to shape her own destiny?
13) What makes a 'classic'?
14) Aren't there plenty of personal memories, real stories, out there which teach and impress one a thousand times more?
15) When will the West produce the first major movie about the Chinese holocaust?
16) The girl leaves them both, says something about Balzac, and starts walking to the nearest city. Is this a cautionary tale about women? About Balzac? About cities? About village girls?
17) Was this a love story around the power of books in a totalitarian China?
18) How did this thing become an international best seller and get rave reviews?
19) Can we put ubiquitous Handmaid’s Tale aside for a little while, and promote other books that truly reveal life in an authoritarian society?
20) Why the glorification of Western culture?
21) If the author was trying to criticize Mao, why not have their independence result in a positive outcome? To show that the system always wins?
22) Was this really a criticism of the Cultural Revolution at all?
23) Did our narrator get to return home? Did Luo?
24) It seems to make the reader achieve a different conclusion than the book tries to present. So the boys have been re-educated? Truly re-educated? So Mao was, after all, right? Is that the irony?
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