What do you think?
Rate this book
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Read
November 14, 2022哎。
October 6, 2025
兄弟, "Brothers" di Yu Hua è un romanzo che ti cattura dalla prima pagina con la sua combinazione di humor nero, crudeltà emotiva e denuncia sociale.
La storia dei due fratelli, profondamente diversi ma legati da un destino tragico e grottesco, riesce a far ridere e riflettere allo stesso tempo: le situazioni più assurde e comiche convivono con momenti di grande durezza e dolore, rendendo la lettura sorprendentemente intensa.
Traduzione di Silvia Pozzi eccezionale, ricrea perfettamente lo stile unico di Yu Hua 👏🏻
La storia dei due fratelli, profondamente diversi ma legati da un destino tragico e grottesco, riesce a far ridere e riflettere allo stesso tempo: le situazioni più assurde e comiche convivono con momenti di grande durezza e dolore, rendendo la lettura sorprendentemente intensa.
Traduzione di Silvia Pozzi eccezionale, ricrea perfettamente lo stile unico di Yu Hua 👏🏻
October 31, 2012
I read this after reading 活着 thinking that since I liked the former, 兄弟 would also be worth reading, and good Chinese practice. It was good Chinese practice, but not really worth reading.
There were good moments in this book, such the stories of 李光头 (li) as a child that reminded me of Huck Finn or a good episode of the Simpsons. The depiction of the cultural revolution, especially after witnessing red armbands suddenly appear on neighbors during the recent protests against Japan, was vivid and frightening.
But the pacing was frustrating. Apparently this book was released as a serial, and that makes far more sense than the current form of a book. Many parts remind me of somebody trying to maximize the character count of an essay without adding more content. It seems like whole paragraphs of text were copied and pasted, only changing the name of one person, such as “First, he went to person A with his business proposal. Then he went to person B with his proposal. Then he went to person C with his proposal. Then he went to person D with his proposal.”
Then other parts (i.e. the last few pages) cover what seem to be incredibly important parts to the plot as little more than an afterthought.
There were good moments in this book, such the stories of 李光头 (li) as a child that reminded me of Huck Finn or a good episode of the Simpsons. The depiction of the cultural revolution, especially after witnessing red armbands suddenly appear on neighbors during the recent protests against Japan, was vivid and frightening.
But the pacing was frustrating. Apparently this book was released as a serial, and that makes far more sense than the current form of a book. Many parts remind me of somebody trying to maximize the character count of an essay without adding more content. It seems like whole paragraphs of text were copied and pasted, only changing the name of one person, such as “First, he went to person A with his business proposal. Then he went to person B with his proposal. Then he went to person C with his proposal. Then he went to person D with his proposal.”
Then other parts (i.e. the last few pages) cover what seem to be incredibly important parts to the plot as little more than an afterthought.
January 16, 2008
loved this book! I enjoy stories that are told by two different people and jump back and forth in time as this one did. It was well written and you got a great insight into life in China in two different types of environments and the story itself was creative and very interesting. High recommend, but it's the type of book you won't be able to put down, so be prepared to read til the finish once you pick up.
February 16, 2009
Brothers starts before Cultural Revolution and ends in the current day China. After reading this ambitious, riotously funny and horribly sad book, i understand why my Chinese friends, above all, value kindness. I also understand why John Roderick, the American reporter who hid in caves with Chairman Mao during the Long March, said that when you think you know everything about China, it's time to get out--you'll never fully understand China.
February 20, 2011
I read this book in hopes I would learn more about Chinese culture and history. In that respect, I was disappointed. However, this was a very fascinating story - it brought tears to my eyes at the end and I had to skip the terrorist parts. I was not able to correctly predict any of the events so that kept my interest. I debated about giving this story four stars, but settled for three. I might read another book by Yu Hua.
July 11, 2013
Yu Hua is an amazing author. Brothers is the only novel I completely finished so far. It shaped the pictures of "Cultural Revolution" in my mind. Some of the scenes matches what my grandfather experienced at that moment. I like his conducting the whole story line without any rhetoric to express every breathless situation of this family. Two brothers, two different ways of life, under the turbulence, he wants to follow, and he wants to live.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2011
it's been like 30 years and the a great number of contemporary mainland writers are still in the culture revolution psyche. what happened between now and the May Fourth Movement? I hope what is left is not just Lust, Caution and Eileen Chang.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews