Sounds of the River: A Young Man's University Days in Beijing – A Poetic Coming-of-Age Memoir of China's Cultural Revolution

by Da Chen

"A story about suppression, humiliation, vindication, and, ultimately, triumph." — New York Times Book Review From the bestselling author of Colors of the Mountain —an engrossing, gloriously written coming-of-age saga that picks up where that book left off—in Beijing during China’s Cultural Revolution In this "equally beguiling sequel to his acclaimed memoir" ( Kirkus Reviews ), teenager Da Chen takes his first train ride away from the farm he was raised on to his new university life in Beijing. He soon faces a host of ghastly challenges, including poor living conditions, lack of food, and suicidal roommates. Undaunted by these hurdles, and armed with a dogged determination to learn English and "all things Western," he competes to win a chance to study in America—a chance that rests in the shrewd and corrupt hands of the almighty professors. Poetic, hilarious, and heartbreaking,  Sounds of the River  is a gloriously written coming-of-age saga that chronicles a remarkable journey—a travelogue of the heart.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, Asia, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Biography, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Da Chen (born in 1962 in Fujian, China) was a Chinese author whose works include Brothers, China's Son, Sounds of the River, Sword, and Colors of the Mountain. A graduate of Beijing Language and Culture University and Columbia Law School, Da Chen lived in the Hudson Valley in New York but then moved to Torrance, California with his wife, the paranormal romance author Sunni, and two children. Brothers has been awarded best book of 2006 by The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald and Publishers Weekly.

Chen passed away on December 17, 2019 at his home in Temecula, California from lung cancer.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Park Ji · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autobiography Sounds of the River written by Da Chen was very inspirational for me to read. As a freshman for the Beijing Language Institute and a boy who was raised in Yellowstone, Da faces numerous challenges that he has never experienced. Living with a roommate, being surrounded by skyscrapers, and going to school with foreigners allows Da to become more mature and active in his social life. Da's ambition towards academics propels him to be one of the best candidates for studying abroad in his college, but his dream is often challenged by the Communist Party of China. Overall, the oppressive setting of communist China in the 1980s and Da Chen's relentless drive to achieve his goal collide constantly as tension rises between them.

I enjoyed the storyline of the book mainly because I am also a student from a foreign country, who has dreamed of going to America. The sympathy I felt while comprehending Da's "American" Dream was very strong, and it triggered me to recall the days when I prepared for going to a boarding school in the U.S. On the other hand, while I was warmed by the friendly behaviors of Da's peers and professors in helping Da adapt to new environment, I was frustrated by how Chinese people had less civil rights than the foreign people at the time. "In the past, we (Admission’s Office officials of the Institute) did not allow any Chinese students here on campus. You students [Chinese] are experiments, so to speak"(Chen, 125). This quote illustrates how corrupted China was at the time, where middle and low class Chinese citizens were oppressed by the Communist Party, even in their own education.

Reading this book gave me various meaningful lessons. The clumsy nature of Da at the beginning was amusing, but his improvement throughout the years was impressive. "Nothing beat the exhilarating feeling of gulping down buckets of knowledge while your competitors rested on bales of dry hay, chewing sweet carrots like that rabbit in the race" (Chen,84). This turtle mentality of Da is certainly a mindset to learn and follow, which ultimately can bring a success to anyone regardless of their background or wealth. I recommend reading this book because one will be able to learn that his/her goals can be achieved although the process could be challenging, by watching Da's passion to make his dream come true.

I believe Da's reason behind for writing this book is to give feedback to students globally on how to become successful. There are so many challenges that one should overcome to be satisfactory of their journey in life. Although the standard of success can be different based on people's opinions, there are numerous individuals like Da, who had or currently is struggling to meet their goals, for reasons such as their poor background that limits them from doing what they want to do. After reading the journey that Da went through, I was able to realize how humble one should be, and the amount of effort that one should put in during the process of reaching a goal. "'I'm giving you an A....'For your information, I (professor Black Rose) only like hard workers, and you are one heck of a hard worker'. 'I don't work hard enough, professor'"(Chen, 90) Getting an A in the first college paper can be a big contentment. While some can be boasting to others and become lazy assuming that they can do well forever, Da humbleness brought him to be one of the top students even though he was a student that was expected not to do well. Stay humble, be positive, and put forth the best effort are the lessons that Da gives to the readers, and it is the reason why the book Sounds of the River is a good one.

[Xingzhi Zhao · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up the book Sounds of the River for my ninth grade English class selective reading project. This autobiography of Chen Da was full of struggle of a little Yellowstone farmer’s son who tries to achieve his American Dream. This story is full of yielding to the reality and corruption in the Chinese society and getting to the goal no matter how hard the situation is. From a person who had almost identical experience to my parents, I could understand his thoughts and struggle better by connecting his story with the ones my parents had told, standing three days on the train to Beijing and etc. The book was full of miraculous turning points that amazed and interested me, but it to me feels like that the story is fictional for it has some events that should not be possibly happening at the time. It might be that the author adjusted the events slightly for American readers to have a better comprehension over the ideas he tries to convey.

The autobiography is full of depression and hope, two contradictory themes that fill every corner of the book. The author creates a great balance between the two by using humor and plugging in the important people that helps him through the adversities. He is always looking forward to and anticipating about the future, no matter how miserable it seems for him to achieve his goals. “I mumbled, muttered, slurred, and stuttered many thanks and even more requests. The prayer of the day was one little thing called America.” (Sounds of the River 132) After he was told that he had little chance of being chosen to go to US among the classmates full of powerful backgrounds, the author pointed out the hope by writing about the prayers, which metaphorically represent to the bright future. It is the many supportive thoughts, friends, and mentors that guide Da through the desperate reality. The way author writes about the two themes brings ups and downs to the story and gives Da a reason to work hard, out of the depression by following the tiny bits of light in his life, which is the hope to the future.

Other than the attitude of being optimistic towards the future, I enjoy the opposite of this written in the book, the depression and quelling reality in front of the ambitious young man. Other than the hard work Da put in, he also yields to the cruel reality because he bribes many times in the story to professors, dean, etc. He realized that nothing can be achieved without getting down to the filthy world and cooperate with it. The philosophy of this was expressed through the words of the dean, “Don’t feel too bad if they say no. Dreams are not the important. Reality is.” (Sounds of the River 291) The words out of a malice character in the book says what the situation was like in China, but Da achieves in both of them, having a dream and facing the reality. This is one of the most critical reason he found success. The depression was also expressed in the amazing character of Bo. When I was wondering why the author needed to write about this crazy and unpleasant person, his death made me realize how much the world has imposed on this person who just want to live in his own way.

I recommend this book to everyone who is willing to find what is beyond the mere words and plots. Although I am not able to know how a non-Chinese person’s experience is like reading this book, I think the book gives enough background information for every reader. The story uses a lot of implication to show his points, and the set up of the plots are really meticulous. The only flaw I see within the autobiography is that it is slow to start.

[Nick Jessop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sounds of the River by Da Chen is a lot of fun to read because the energy and mood changes drastically throughout the book. The book is funny in some parts and very sad and depressing in other parts. I think the author wrote this biography to express his educational experience in China. This book is about Da Chen's experiences at college in the 1980's. It is not a typical college experience because Da is from a small, poor farming town and he has to transition to a urban enviroment. Da was able to go to college because of a scholarship he won. When he first arrives he does not have to many friends but towards the middle of the book he becomes close with his roommates and other people. However during the winter he has to overcome lots of adversities. In this quote it is clear that Da has to adapt but he doesn't let go of his roots. "Though I am a city man now, I still lived like a Yellow Stone farmer. Every morning at sunrise I woke with the the birds that sang and scratched for food among the fallen leaves outside my window." (Sounds of the River p. 51)
I think this book was very good at recreating Da's experiences and describing people. In this quote you can see how the author describes people. "The tall guy had a worn sweatshirt on, looking casual yet stylish. The short one wore an old army uniform buttoned to his neck." (Sounds of the River p. 19) The book had a pattern where it was broad and flowy and then every once in awhile the book zoomed in and became very detailed. This made the book easy to read. I really liked this book and rarely felt bored because the book wasn't repetitive. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a detailed plot that is still easy to read. Overall this is one of my favorite books I have read this year.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book by random, so my review of this book may not be as well supported as the others since this particular one is not the first of the series- as i found out later. However this book is alive. It really creates a mirror into his life, its personal and wonderfully told. Da Chen's description of nature and the people, his culture are rich and tantalizing. Even though the subject in which he speaks mostly of are his university days; he allows the reader to sympathize for him. laugh with him and know him as a person. Unlike other biographies where the facts of one's life is like a dot-point list, Da Chen really does depict and portray a fascinating environment in which he finds in Beijing; he is a hilarious, humorous character. I particularly like his modesty and love for all those around him. You can see as you read the book how much he cares about each and everyone of the people who have entered or are a part of his life, especially his family. We read his life story but through that, the progression and change of those around him. I cannot compare it to his first book in his autobiographical series but if the first one is "better" then it must have been pretty extraordinary to beat this one. However, this book is by no means short, I found that i could at times, never put it down or not touch it for days. As a whole, it was great.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really a portrait of a poor Chinese scholar who did not give up his hopes and dreams of studying in America. I have profound respect for people of his generation.

[Ethan Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book , I walked in da chens shoes. I felt his losses and smiled with his victories.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This spring, I read Sounds of the River, a memoir written by the Chinese author Da Chen. Chen was born in 1962, and therefore grew up during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution led by the Communist Party leader, Mao Zedong. Chen’s father, previously a landowner, was beaten and thrown in a reform camp during this time, and nine-year-old Da Chen was threatened with imprisonment, because landowning was contrary to the ideals Mao was attempting to indoctrinate Chinese society with during the Cultural Revolution. Da Chen’s father recalled that the Cultural Revolution “was when he realized his youth was over.” (Sounds of the River 306) As a result of this political persecution, Da’s family faced extreme poverty that lasted for much of his adolescence. Additionally, Da Chen was born in a rural village in the southeastern coastal province of Fujian in China, which meant he was quite isolated from the big Chinese cities such as Beijing up north. So, when Da, a talented and ambitious student, place well enough on the college placement exam to go far away from home to attend university in pursuit of an English degree, his lack of money and southern look and dialect put him at an immediate disadvantage among his peers and in the eyes of his professors.

This book, therefore, has something for everybody. It reads like a true novel; the reader develops a sincere, immersive relationship with Da and his quest over the course of the book. I found myself reveling in Da’s triumphs, and bitterly reviling those who contemptuously condemned Da to deal with petty setbacks while he steadily progressed towards his goal. The descriptive style of writing helps to increase the sensation of immersion introduced by the empowering chronicle of Da Chen’s underdog story. Beyond the entertainment provided by the reading, Sounds of the River also is great food for thought; it introduces many interesting cultural discussions, as well as life lessons that anyone can learn from, making it an appropriate book for the thoughtful, annotating reader or the academic. This book is one giant collection of prompts for discussion, and can spark discussions about the design of education, differences in culture, the role of religion, the role of friendship, the importance of family, and many other themes the reader can investigate in their own thoughts or with others.

Much of Sounds of the River’s narrative centered on Da Chen’s attempts to branch out and make connections with more and more people in pursuit of his goals. While this is certainly a highlight of the book for the reader, it also comes at the expense of characters from earlier in the story. Da Chen was only able to pack so much information into 307 pages of text, so the role of all the characters in the overall story felt like a sort of zero sum game, such that each new character introduced entered at the expense of information about previous characters, whose storylines would subsequently be greatly reduced in detail or just dropped. An example of this was the role of Da Chen’s university roommate, Hong. Hong more or less disappears from the story halfway through, reappearing briefly at a few more points before the end of the book, which is strange, considering that Hong and Da Chen slept in the same room together. One of the few times Hong reappeared was to talk with Da about finding a job. Hong said, “‘Well, good luck then.’ He went off to sleep.” (Sounds of the River 211) Just as Hong left Da alone at this point, and went off to sleep, Da in turn put Hong’s role in the story to sleep. While including all information about every character would have resulted in a horribly convoluted mess of a book, I still would have appreciated an effort to tie up some loose ends. Regardless, Sounds of the River was an empowering, thought-provoking, eye-opening autobiography.

[Joseph (Jojo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da Chen, a Chinese author, born in 1962 in Fujian, China, graduated from Columbia Law School in 1990, and Beijing Language and Culture University. He lives in California with his wife and two children. He has several best-selling books, focusing either on fictional adventures in Ancient China, or memoirs focusing on his life in China before coming to the United States. Sounds of the River ( Full title, Sounds of the River: A Young Man's University Days in Beijing, or Sounds of the River: a Memoir) , is part of the latter category. Sounds of the River chronicles his late teenage years to young adult life, as a university student then worker in Beijing. At face value, this book may seem boring, although it is much more entertaining than it seems.

 

For the first part of this book, it is quite boring. Large amounts of time is spent on bland, simple worldbuilding, and while the main character has struggles, it is hard to empathize with him as he seems at times either too perfect, or at times, acts naive. However, from there, it starts to focus more on the characters, along with the different worlds that Da, the protagonist, belongs to. This is when it starts to get truly interesting. Although it starts at a slow pace, together with the fact that, at times, it seems like the MC has life going too well for him stop it from being perfect, the characters, settings, and themes explored make this book excellent.

 

The characters in this book have a unique quality to them that makes them especially easy to relate to, especially considering that they are very vulgar, talk and act like teenagers and young adults do today. This book also does a fantastic job of rotating out different characters, each having a different feel, which allows the cast to develop and become entertaining, while at the same time not getting stale or boring. In the stages of  Da’s university life, there are two individual characters which remain extremely relatable, then his family. The first, and perhaps most tragic, is his roommate Bo. Bo is similar to Finny in A Separate Peace, as he seems as if he can do no wrong in the eyes of authority, also he’s usually the one to think of dangerous, fun ideas. There's something different about Bo, however. He’s introduced as someone who’s assured of what he wants and is not afraid of the law.

That’s the outlandish Fujian mountain and border policy or whatever you call it. You’re in Beijing now, the center of everything. You can’t live like an ancient man under feudalism anymore. You’ve got to liberate yourself from those shackling ideas, college man, be independent and free. ( SoTR p. 21)

From there we’re given his background as the son of a wealthy family, but his family was never around, “You’d never want mine either, an empty life surrounded by luxury  …. Not if you have no one to share it with.” ( SoTR p. 52).Following this, he gets even more complex. We soon learn that because of this fact, he is often depressed, with frequent mood swings. Da, being intensely focused on studies, ignores these signs and continues to enjoy the presence of Bo, until tragedy strikes, similarly to A Separate Peace . Da has to take this, as well as a physical problem, for a section of the book, but he manages to mostly overcome both, leaving this heartfelt sentence for Bo. “ Bo, my friend, for any loss in our lives, we all have to pay a certain price, in not in sorrow then in pain. ” ( SoTR p. 194). The next character is his roommate in the adult stage of his life, Lee. Lee is particularly entertaining for his bluntness and realism, but at the same time is a true friend for Da and helps him realize things that his more optimistic attitude lets him miss. This is shown by a particular discussion between pages 287-88, where he helps him realize that his path to America is not even close to as clear as it might seem, while at the same time being happy for him. But what may be the most important group of characters, more so than his mentor Professor Tu, even more so than the various religious believers that pull him in different directions, are his family. While his mother and father influence him the most as far as advice and how much he references them, “ Thank you, Mommy. I wish you had told me more. ”( SoTR p. 56), when he goes back to Yellow Stone on vacation, it is abundantly clear how much he loves his entire family, he constantly misses them and feels proud for them. They perhaps, more than anything, are the reasons why he does not change for the negative throughout the course of the story, they are the reasons he stays strong.

 

The settings in this story, combined with the characters, give this book a sense of diversity that is perhaps unrivaled. Beijing is a place of diversity, a place where anything seems possible, while Yellow Stone is a rural, country area where everyone is hardy, skilled with land, and everyone knows each other. Perhaps even more important, America, the land of dreams and opportunities, the ultimate goal that must be achieved at all costs, yet the government remains wary and very exacting in choosing people to send there. However, little hints are dropped that America may not be all it is hyped up to be. “I’m so sorry to hear That. Nothing seems secure in America. In our school, no one gets fired.”( SoTR p. 286). This creates an interesting juxtaposition between the nation Americans know it to be and how it is seen by foreigners, presenting an interesting outsider’s perspective.

 

Finally, the themes seen in this book combine all of this into several questions. These, and several positive messages that are reflected in this true story, are referenced multiple times, often becoming blurred in the life of Da. Several arguments, such as city vs country, Americans and other foreigners vs Chinese, rich vs poor, exemplified in the debate Da and Bo have on page 52, are seen and referenced multiple times throughout this story. Positive messages, such as the benefits of hard work, the values of good friends and strong friendships, like the brothers Da and his Yellow Stone friends consider themselves to be, are hammered in throughout. More, including responsibility “I should act more nobly, because everyone thought of me that way” ( SoTR p. 144),  are also seen multiple times.

 

While those are the main reasons why this book is excellent, there are other minor reasons. This book goes through several stages of Da’s life, making for an extremely interesting adventure where it can be seen how he matures, changing from a naive country boy to a man, hardened and taught by the rigors of life. He started with a disadvantage but rose to the top, yet still keeps enough of his youthful innocence to be a likeable character who makes mistakes, needing his friends to help him fix them. Da’s shaded past, although it is covered in other memoirs that he has written, is teased throughout this book as a very painful time that he still reflects on, that feels uncomfortable to even think about. Yet, enough is kept secret to be interesting enough to want to find out more about, but enough is told so that it does not become frustrating. Being told from the perspective of someone speaking a foreign language, similarly to Before We Free , it is refreshingly direct and easy to understand. Religion is presented in many different ways to Da, and the religions in this book are all paid respect to, helping him out in many ways, while at the same time pulling him in two different directions, mostly between Buddhism and Christianity. “I grew up in a Buddhist family, but I have just been to a Christian service” ( SoTR p. 282) The government is at the beginning treated as something to be followed uncompromisingly, but eventually morphs into something negative and restricting, as Da sees more of the world and how the Communist party is flawed.

Sound of the River is a rousing adventure chronicling a young man’s university years, his maturation, triumphs, and failings during this time. Although it starts off slowly and Da’s life may at times seem a bit too perfect,the way it has a beautiful, complex cast of characters and settings, as well as tieing into positive themes and observing societal and national differences, as well as a host of other things such as religion and government, makes this an excellent book. Highly recommended.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Da Chen’s first memoir Colors of the Mountain, I had to read the sequel to it. This second memoir opens with 16-year old Chen boarding the train for Beijing to begin his life at a prestigious university. It ends with him becoming a professor at the university and eventually receiving a scholarship to study in the United States. What a huge transition! What an experience it was for a young man from a small rural village to face the world of a city that was far beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life. In the 1980s China was moving slowly toward a more capitalistic society and corruption was rampant. However, remnants of the Cultural Revolution remained and the world in which he lived was restrictive. For example, Chinese students were discouraged from socializing with Americans, or anyone from another country. Bribing teachers was common, and speaking out could sometimes lead to punishment.

Chen’s experiences remind me of some of the students I taught in China in 2005-2006. One student in particular came from a small village similar to the author’s. He was from one of the minority groups and was the first one from his village to attend college. When he got to the university he could not understand the local dialect, nor was his English as good as he thought it was. In fact, he barely understood the English teacher. Like the author, he never had a teacher who was not Chinese; therefore, the English he learned did not sound like the English of a native speaker. When a naive “country bumpkin” is thrown into a large city with students who have a lot of money and a lot of experience in city living, there is bound to be confusion and difficulty.

Chen’s memoir was easy to ready, entertaining (he has a great sense of humor), and deals with the same issues that students everywhere face when growing up: confusion, anger, loneliness, hope and disappointment. The beauty of his life was the loving family who supported him and his special relationship with his father. His determination to be the best and to conquer his fears and weaknesses is to be admired.

His love of the English language intrigued me and impressed me. I chose one passage where he talks about the beauty of words and his admiration for Jack London.

"There was not enough time in a day for me to regurgitate what I had learned. Only in the waning hours of the day, in the eerily quiet night, would I chew over the learned words of the day, relishing the real taste of pretty words and beautiful phrases such as nostalgia, willow bay, nip and tick, nape of the neck and tiptoes. But my favorite of all favorites was the phrase white silence, London’s coinage for Alaska. I often lost myself imagining that vast, snow-covered land across the mysterious Bering Strait. …I basked in the beauty of a language that had taken root inside me and promised a prosperous blossoming.

For midterm, I recited a lengthy paragraph from Martin Eden, my favorite book, which lasted for a good fifteen minutes. Cross-eyed Professor Lulu did not blink the whole time; her mouth was left hanging. The section described Martin Eden falling in love with Ruth, how his world had turned into a whirlwind and how helpless love had made him. It was classic Jack London, dreamy, heartfelt, and eloquent. In that short while, as the class listened, I became him and Ruth became my lover. I fell in love, and love was beautiful. Lulu gave me a delayed reaction of applause, which was followed with reluctant cheering by my classmates. They too were infected with that fever of love and London’s feverish writing."

[Masamune Yamano]

Sounds of the River is a memoir written by Da Chen in 2002. He is a Chinese author and was born1962, in a small village of Fujian, China. He is a graduate of Beijing Language and Culture University and Columbia Law School. He wanted to study English, so he went to Beijing Language Institute. He wrote many famous books such as Colors of the Mountain, China's Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution, Wandering Warrior, Brothers,and My Last Empress.

I had a chance to read one book from three books, but I chose Sounds of the River because when I saw the book cover it said, "Sounds of the Water" in Chinese. I’m not Chinese but I’m Japanese, so I could understand the letter that was written in Chinese. Also, it said, "A young Man’s University days in Beijing", so I thought I could relate myself to this author. This book is about one young boy, who lives in a small village in China and is going to a university that is located in Beijing to study English by himself, and the life in the university will change him a lot. His writing is very descriptive

I have been living in U.S for three years and I think this book was the easiest book that I have ever read. I could relate myself to the main character of this book which is the author. In this book, the main character goes to a university by himself and he is changed a lot by his experiences at the university. When I was in 7th grade, I decided to study English in Cardigan and came here by myself. I had a hard time with homesickness, but my friends helped me out. I experienced a lot of things at Cardigan such as cultural differences, and the language differences. In this book, Da also learns about the cultural differences and how the Chinese people got treated differently. For example, “You dummy, we have no hot water. Only the foreigner’s buildings get hot water eight hours a day.”(Sounds of the River 54) From this quote, I could tell that how the foreigners and Chinese people were treated unequally. I did not get the reason why the Chinese people got treated differently, even though they are in their own country. Also, from this book I learned how much Da wanted to improve his English skills. “The invitation was heartwarming, but I had already decided to stay on campus to save money and to study some more books while the rest of my classmates would be resting.”(Sounds of the River 100) From this quote, I got to know how much he wants to improve his English even though he wants to go back to his home. Also, I can tell that he is a hard worker.

I really liked this book. It was very similar to a book that I have read before which is Before we were Free because both of the book’s story is about the main character lives in another place that you are not familiar with. I think the reason he wrote this book is that the most challenge that he had faced or experienced was the life in the University and also he learned so many things that would benefit him as a person. I would recommend this book especially to people who went to school or lived in other countries. This book taught me how hard to live in a different place that you are not familiar to even though I have experienced it already. Also, I learned hard work would be a source to achieve your dream.

[Leo Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds of the River (STR) is a quite moving and inspiring memoir to crack open. Despite the author, Da Chen, is actually a Chinese, the language was intriguing. Da was born in 1962 in the remote village of Southern China. His parents have suffered from the cruel Cultural Revolution led by the communist party, which has taken everything that family used to own. Property and jobs were taken away. Friendship and family relations were torn apart. It was all the heavy labors and scarce educational resource that Da grew up with. From there, he gave us a colorful journey of his Beijing Language and Culture University. All kinds of emotions blend with it. He was frustrated with the city slickers, struggled his dream, desperate by the corrupted system, and eventually made his way out.

The way Da tells all of his emotions and life were very detailed. I was with him all the time. “The word vibrated violently like throbbing waves in my head. I’m in! I’m in! I’m out I’m out of here! I'm singing, I’m dancing! I ran through the hushed hall filled with anguished eyes and the stony stares of uniformed guards. My breath freed and my steps light. I wanted to fly. Heck, I could fly!” (STR p.299) In a part like this, I would read faster wanting to see the reaction of his parents. He is writing in very detailed actions of people around, the conversations within his head and surroundings. Ultimately, composed a vivid scene in my head as if I am “Da”. I do not even want or have time to doubt him at all.

At the beginning of the book, I saw a lot of criticism towards China, especially when he is describing dream about the train to Beijing. “flew off to an outlandish place where strange headless animals danced and welcomed with slim arms.” (STR p.1) I thought the book is purely accusing the Chinese corrupted professor first, however, I found that he was really trying to convey the idea of never stop chasing dream beyond present life. “There was guilt in doing exactly what we supposed to be doing.” (STR p.210) No Matter what was pose in front of Da, he worked the way through. Even though things were not the way they look like, Da looked inside the spoiled system of China. He did not whine and worked his way to U.S. thriving. From my perspective, he is really trying to tell the reality of survival. We need to look inside of it and pose the beneficial tactic to thrive regardless of the shackles called the beauty, following the rules. To some extent, I feel this book is closely related to Money as a Weapon System from Redeployment we read at the beginning of the year. They reveal the reality behind beauty and showed how nasty it is if people need to survive and succeed. It might sound very negative. In fact, I found it is pretty insight depiction of life in this world. Rules sometimes needed to be broken when dreams need to come true.

In the end, I really want to recommend this book to teenagers in high school or elder people. It really taught me a lot about real life. However, I would not recommend people who know little about China to read this book, since I found several exaggerated places about living in China as a Chinese who comes from the remote part of China like Da.

[henry zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This spring, I read the book “Sounds of the River” by Da Chen. The book cover attracted me before I even read it because of the Chinese character on it. The author, Da Chen, is not a famous writer in China, and all his books don’t have a Chinese vision even though he is Chinese. He was born in Fujian, China in 1962, and went to a decent collage called “Beijing Language and Culture University”. This book is about his journey in this Collage, and how he achieved his goal, which was go aboard. “Sounds of the river” is one of the six biographies he wrote, and it was written in 2002. He shows authors a pretty accurate description of China he lived in, and even illustrates the corruption of China during that time. This must be one of the reasons why he didn’t publish any of his books in China.

Unlike the other English book I have read, this book is very special. The language usage of this book is awkward, and some of the paragraphs are hard to understand because of the vocabulary usage and the way he write. To be honest, this book is hard to read due to its vocabularies and overmuch detail. But, all in all, it is really a good book. Chen Da’s writing style is very similar to the typical Chinese writers. He used a lot of figures of speech such as analogy, personification, and metaphor. For example “Lush mountains, layers and layers of them, piled up on both sides, guarding the edge of Fujian like solemn soldiers, never tiring.”(SR p.5) This is how he makes the boring story interesting, and presented what he saw in the best way he can. The author makes me feel I am there, in the story, seeing the same landscapes he is seeing, like a friend next to him. You will find out this book provide a vision enjoyment better than any other books.

Also, this book is very emotional. You can feel the anger or sadness of the figures easily because of the details Da Chen provide. One of the strategies he was the key of the book. He never tells the readers directly about one’s emotion. All he did was describe what he saw and what he heard. By that people’s act, readers can easily tell figures’ emotions and thoughts. For example, when one of the figures died in the book, he should his emotion by talking about his body language. “I collapsed weakly into my seat. A cavity bored instantly inside me.” (SR p.176) Da Chen shows us how he acted to a sudden bad news, and through the acts, we can easily tell his emotion.

The most important element that attracted me is the humorous. The book is extremely interesting for me when Da talks about girls and sex. It is also funny to see him grow up from a country boy who knows nothing to a “city slicker” that do all kinds of corrupt things, and telling lies. I enjoy this book a lot, and I found many similarities between Da Chen’s story and mine. In my opinion, Da wrote this book to memorize, China, his home country, and also his friends and families. I hope I can read more of his books.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds of the River is a memoir written by Chinese author, Da Chen. The book follows Chen's own journey as an ambitious university student in Beijing during the 1980s, and is a tale of perseverance, discrimination, and ultimately, success. Through the book, it seems that Chen was trying to express how far hard work can get you, and what has to be sacrificed in order to achieve one's dreams. Chen's long and winding journey is chronicled masterfully with raw, yet very descriptive language that never seems artificial or unnatural.
Winter in Beijing was forbidding. New snow piled on old slush. Roads were treacherous and broken ankles or fractured hips were inevitable torts in a hasty trot. Trees, bare to their knuckles, stood ugly and dangerous...A few brave and hungry birds flapped their tiny wings with extra gusto to stay within the choppy course of their windy flight. (Sounds of the River 103)
Qiu–the Chinese word for autumn–brought to mind lotuses, floating on calm water, dreaming; bubbling crabs scaling noisy bamboo baskets, escaping; and silky clouds, thinning...Qiu in Beijing was hollowing. The Mongolian wind raked the treetops of their red, dying leaves. Children's feet fell lightly on the layers of crunchy dried leaves. The city seemed higher, the streets emptier, people smaller, and faces tinier. (Sounds of the River 91)
These quotes are just two of many examples proving how vivid and graphic Chen's style of writing is, and I feel that this style lends itself especially well to a nonfiction book such as Sounds of the River. The additional realism caused me to be very invested in the characters and storyline, and at times it was hard for me to put the book down. The descriptiveness painted detailed and vibrant pictures of the settings and characters in my mind, further adding to the already impressive level of immersion that I experienced. However, while the ending was emotional, I felt that it left many things unresolved, and inhibited me from experiencing much contentment concerning the overall story. I felt that there could have been more closure, as the ending was more or less and slap in the face to readers who were truly immersed in the struggles of Chen, only to have his journey end so abruptly. Anyhow, Sounds of the River is easily one of the best books I have read in recent memory, and I definitely would like to read more of Chen's work. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an engaging and awe-inspiring read, and is ready for a roller coaster of emotions, ranging from stark despair to extreme joy. Who would have thought that we would read a good book in English class?

[Sage Mines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds of the River by Da Chen is a autobiography book set in Beijing China for most of the book. Da Chen was born in the tiny village of Fujian, and has been accepted to Beijing Language Institute in the big city of Beijing, to study English. From his first class at the university he realizes that his English skills are far behind the other students so he works hard and puts in many hours to go from worst in his class to best, and makes many friends along the way. He hears that there is a chance to go to America funded by the school and study there Da is now willing to work his hardest and compete against others in his class for the small chance to go to America. One strength that I think that the book utilizes to the best of its ability is making the reader become connected to the characters in the book, so the reader cheers when something good happens and cries when something bad happens. One weakness that I think the book has is it does not give a lot of information to the reader about why things are like the way they are in China this makes the book confusing at times for an American reader.

I believe that the author is very credible he gives great descriptions of the setting, and he makes me feel like I could be there side by side with him as he goes through many adventures. I feel like the main characters are very believable even though I think some are very strange I believe that they are real people. I believe that the author writing with a divine passion and a good description of all characters really lends to the power and believability of the book. I personally loved the book, and I thought that it was a great story that gives power to the belief that if you work hard, put in good hours, and take advice from people that can help you, good things will come your way. “Slowly and carefully I stretched my lips, twisted my jaw, trying to mold the precious English words flawless marbles. As my mouth went dry, I tried to swallow some saliva and went on. When my head slumped down, dozing off, I pinched my earlobes until I woke up”(Chen 42). This quote shows Da working endless hours desperately trying to become a great English speaker, through nothing more than hard work. One event that I would connect this to is Leicester City F.C. winning the British Premier League (BPL) in soccer, Da overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to be successful and Leicester City overcame seemingly impossible odds to win the BPL. Both Da and this team had to work very hard to be successful in their different realms. I loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves books where they become almost overly attached to the main character and pray that good things happen to him or her.

[Eveline Chao]

Memoir of the author's college years at BLCU (Beijing Languages and Culture University, then called Beijing Languages Institute) during the early 1980s, as one of the first class of Chinese allowed to study alongside foreigners (though not in the same classes or dorms). We follow him arriving in Beijing as a hick from Fujian, studying English, doing an internship that involves meeting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and eventually discovering Christianity and getting to the US. And making a lot of poop and sex jokes along the way, in that earthy, peasant-humor way.

If you are knowledgeable about China then this doesn't offer much that's new - the author himself says that the China he writes about is a nostalgic one, and there's definitely a bit of an "ooh, foreign land of dragons, cue the zithers" vibe to much of it. However, the author's voice is really distinctive and playful and endearing. And since I used to live in Beijing it was fascinating to catch little atmospheric details here and there about what Beijing and BLCU were like back then. For example, he describes a rich roommate who was among the first people on campus to wear shoes with a high heel; mentions how stores only sold blue and black padded coats; and there's a great scene where he sneaks into the Friendship store to buy Phoenix cigarettes by posing as a Cambodian and going in with a bunch of Cambodians he knows through the school. I was also interested in the little details of everyday dorm life - they didn't have hot water and wouldn't shower much, then they get to move to a dorm that does have hot water, and his roommate uses that to lure over girls who work on the campus because they want to be able to shower in hot water. He also remembers his first encounter with air conditioning, and talks about working as a translator for American NBA players in this funny, vivid way that makes it sound like trying to interact with Ents (the giant trees in the Lord of the Rings movies).

Also, this part made me laugh because I've heard of this idea in reverse before (an Italian really liking China because it reminds him of Italy):

[A conversation with a friend after the narrator does something to incur the wrath of the department dean]

"Now you are fucked. I told you so."
"What's going to happen to me, you think?"
"Forget going abroad. Forget promotion. Forget everything. You'll suffer til you die."
"I don't believe it."
"You'd better. Have you ever read the translated version of The Godfather, an American bestseller?"
"No."
"You should. It is so much like Communist China, I simply love it. The only difference is that the Mafia seem to have a little more heart."

[Alvaro de Zabala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sounds of the River is a book written by Da Chen. Da Chen is a chinese author born in Fujian, China in 1962. He grew up in Fujian and later decided to move to beijing to attend college. The then finished top in his class and moved to the United States. He attended Columbia University with a full scholarship and graduated in 1990. He has written many other books about his life just like this one. In this book he wrote about his experience at college and the hardships he went through to be successful thus making this book a memoir. His experience at college took place a couple years after the death of Former Chairman of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong. This was a historic era for China and with Mao Zedong's influence still alive. There are many references to Communism in the book and it plays a big role throughout the book like the Chinese and foreigners separated in classes, dorms, and the cafeteria due to communism. Da Chen was also from a relatively poor family making college a big point in his life. I think that the main message of this book is that hard work and sacrifice will one day pay off.

Da Chen wrote this book masterfully. He made the book so realistic making the characters feel real. Reading this book made you feel like you were Da Chen and you were doing all this stuff. The way Da Chen wrote the book was a very realistic style. It gave huge detail to everything like what the soil smelled like to what a warm shower felt like. It made the book so much more real giving you the sense that you were there, it gave it a power of emotions that even the reader felt and knew what he was going through even though you really didn't. One weakness I encountered while reading this book was that sometimes it was so detailed and realistic that it became boring, but overall it didn't take away from the reading. A connection I made was to me and coming to Cardigan where my life changed. When I got to Cardigan, the first few weeks were hard. I was introduced to harder opportunities and had to make sacrifices and work harder to get good grades. Da also made sacrifices to become a better student and it helped him become successful. The author wrote this book for the reason of reflection to to show how hard work and sacrifice pays off. He proves this wonderfully and makes this book a great one to read. I really like this book and I recommend people to read this book if they are looking for an adventure of sacrifice and into the life of a young chinese man in college.

[Giorgo Caripidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds of the River by Da Chen is one of the best experiences I have had in an assigned reading. The plot revolves around Da Chen a young college student who is going for his first time outside of Yellow Stone, his hometown. He goes around Bejing as he finishes his college years and eventually gets a job. But even thought Da is Chinese, he still seems like a foreigner to the culture in Bejing, making for a simple plot about a boy learning what it's like to be in one of the biggest cities in the world for the first time.

This book excels at explaining the setting to the reader and making exposition fun and engaging. A great example it's near the beginning of the text, where Da goes into a bathing chamber and accidentally entered in the woman's area. After an old woman pulling him out of the are there is a brief exchange between the two, "'Honest mistake' I said. 'Heard that one before, you horny pervert. Those women would have beaten you to a pulp'" (SoR, 56). This is one of many examples where Da is shown to be bewildered by the cities culture. This is a short but sweet exposition of how Da is completely new to the culture.

Later on this story, we get to learn the fact that in his college they assign people jobs. It shows this in a way that it does not shock the reader. After hearing from a student that got a job at an agricultural college, Da is worried about what his job is going to be. He shows concern even before this going as far to say "The most nerve-wracking part of our college career-job assignments-had just begun." (SoR, 243-244). This is the first time that we hear of the job assignment program and it is introduced so quickly and introduce deeply enough where it does not becoming useless information later on the story, instead just a small fraction of the overarching plot.

Apart from that the book is okay, it doesn't excel at much but if I need to complain about something is the inconsistency in chapter lengths and how the time flows in the plot line. But taking all this into consideration I still think this is a great book to read and most likely one that I'll reread in the future. I can recommend this book to almost anyone who has been through college especially if you are into short comedic chapters and some drama. Overall this book excels at a few points and apart from that is good overall.

[Alan Zhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sounds of the River is a memoir written by Chinese author Chen Da. This book is about Chen's journey from being a country boy, to a language school college student, and in the end, achieving his "American Dream". Chen encountered all kinds of challenges, including difficulties adapting to life in Beijing, his friend's death, and corruption within the Communist Party and the college administration. He persevered, and with a bit of luck, he was finally able to go to the United States, which seemed to be impossible for him before leaving his Fujian hometown.

One thing in particular that I love about this book Chen's language. Chen's language is not dull, but easily understandable, and sometimes sarcastic, humorous and even ridiculous. When reading the book, I felt like Chen was sitting beside me telling his story. "My nose smelled those rumpled grasses, strangled by the stampede of bulls running, and my ears listened to echoing silence hidden in a dreamy valley... Nothing mattered as much as I mattered to myself. Beer. Long live beer!" (Chen 79) Reading this paragraph Chen wrote about drinking beer in a party, I can easily feel what Chen felt myself. His writing style made this book more realistic and relatable.

"Uniformed guards walked the beat, nastily pushing away and kicking Chinese who had knowingly or unknowingly stepped over the invisible democration line, while humbly bowing to the white feet of white men with white women on their white arms." (Chen 113) I almost sense the anger of Chen, when he saw guards that forced strict communist policies on Chinese people, while being obsequious in front of foreigners.

I can easily relate this book to my life. Even though Chen's college time was almost 50 years from now and things have changed a lot in China, I can relate to some ridiculous communist policies in China. Being a boarding school student, at the same time, I understand some feelings Chen felt when first arriving at his college, and know that the level of corruption in the admission and administration can be very frustrating.

I would recommend this book to anyone. Most readers would certainly be able to connect to this book, even if they cannot, they can certainly enjoy the plots and get some laughs.

[Yun Liu]

The book Sounds of the River was a book that affected my viewpoint of China. I personally do not like this book because this author is using his perspective talking about something that only happened to a specific type of people in China. For example in the previous of the book, there was an old lady on the train. However, she was a really rude lady that took Da's sit on the train. Although Da was holding his ticket and showing that he owned this spot, the old lady was not going anywhere. Then Da was looking for some help of people who sit nearby and finally stood out, helped him took his spot back. This was not usually happened at that time period, but that could be one of the possibilities. The way that he talked about this point was not a positive emotion, and he did not even talked about the possibility. This could cause some misunderstanding of some readers that are from other countries by giving them a bad impression of Chinese’ old men and women.

Once I got to the end of this book, I found out that he was actually lucky to studying in America, but he did not only work hard. He got lucky in his way to studying English. He got a great teacher, who would like to support him until the end of his journey and he got great parents, who would let him go to a far place from his home. At that time, Chinese parents did not like to let their children go far away from them because the war just ended and everybody wanted to protect their children under a safe place, but he got lucky to have that kind of parents, who would not mind him to go to America.

However, this book gave me some good impression, for example, I found out that this book’s title Sounds of the River is talking about the author’s mind and thought during this way studying English. He thinks that his way of learning English was like a river and he was following the sounds and got into MBA. This is a great thought from the author and this is a great point to point out.

[James Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds of the River is a memoir written by Da Chen, a chinese author. The story taking place in Beijing during the 1980s, and it's main plot handles Da Chen's journey as an university student (Beijing Language Institute). During the course of the book, Da Chen shoes that hard work pays off, and what it takes to become successful. Da Chen does a phenomenal job in masterfully writing down his own journey with raw and descriptive language.
"Qiu–the Chinese word for autumn–brought to mind lotuses, floating on calm water, dreaming; bubbling crabs scaling noisy bamboo baskets, escaping; and silky clouds, thinning...Qiu in Beijing was hollowing. The Mongolian wind raked the treetops of their red, dying leaves. Children's feet fell lightly on the layers of crunchy dried leaves. The city seemed higher, the streets emptier, people smaller, and faces tinier." (Chen 91)
As you may notice, he has such a talent in describing. I also partially think the writing seem very natural as it is based on his own true story. The vivid writing makes the reader hooked into the book as soon as you finished the very first part of the book.
“Slowly and carefully I stretched my lips, twisted my jaw, trying to mold the precious English words flawless marbles. As my mouth went dry, I tried to swallow some saliva and went on. When my head slumped down, dozing off, I pinched my earlobes until I woke up”(Chen 42)
As the quote shows, Da puts in endless hours trying to become better at English every day. He ultimately gained success getting a great job by hard work beating the odds. It reminded me of the 2002 FIFA World Cup where South Korea, a nation nobody expected to even hit the road to round of 32, through hard work, advance to the quarterfinals with a final record of 4th overall. This book reminded me again of the importance of putting the work in and having trust within yourself.
The book overall was amazing, and I would recommend this book to anyone, but specialy students with big ambition who believe in hard work.

[Griffin Fitzmaurice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sounds of the River By Da Chen, is a Memoir about his days of being a college student far away from home in Beijing, China. Da Chen was born in Fujian, China in 1962. He grew up in a poor landowning family that was subject to lots of communist persecution, including beatings and imprisonment. Da went to college in Beijing at the age of sixteen and later went to the United States with only $30 in his pocket. He then went to the Columbia University School of Law and then worked for a Wall Street Investment company called Rothschilds, Inc. Da has so far published two memoirs and four novels.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Da made the reader feel like they were actually there because he experienced this first-hand. He knew what he was writing about and explained everything in detail because he was there. This all helped to make a better mental picture of the setting and the characters. While using lots of detail to support the characters roles and the setting, Da also likes to choose words very carefully. He is an English major and really loves the language. When writing he choose each word carefully and also like to use big words at times. I believe that he chose to write this book because he wants to show that hard work really does pay off. Da came from nothing and worked hard everyday because he knew what he wanted and went after it. When writing this book he wants to show that anyone can live the America Dream, no matter where you come from. Overall, I thought this was a very good and interesting read. I liked to hear about the crazy stuff that occurred in Beijing during his college days and what else went on. I would recommend this book to everyone. This is a very good book this is not very challenging.

[Nick Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sounds of the River by Da Chen is the intriguing autobiography of a boy from Yellowstone, China and his journey through college and city life in Beijing. He explains through his peculiar writing style just all of the changes and surprises that welcomed him in college. The way in which Da Chen writes it, he makes you feel as if you are on the journey with him to a strange new world. I quite admired the fact that he stayed himself even when he was in the city, “Though a city man now, I still lived like a Yellowstone farmer. Every morning at sunrise I woke with the birds that sang and scratched for food among the fallen leaves.” (51, Chen) I also admire the his bravery in coming to a strange new world and learning a new language. However, he was not fearless. Instead, he pushed through his fear in all circumstances. "I forced myself to shake off this daunting reality of me the shrimp talking to a school of whales." (218, Chen) I think this book, like all books, had its pros and cons. The only con, and reason I would hesitate to recommend this book to people I know, is that it is riddled with unnecessary foul language. Otherwise, it is an engaging true story that allows people to see Beijing and life as an outsider in a different light. This book has inspired me to be myself, even when others put me down.

[Marten Wennik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a moving book. I enjoyed the humor with which the author could broach such a challenging and frustrating life. To understand the restricting and manipulated world of 1980's China is confusing. To think that Chen can look at so many of the vignettes of his life at the University in Beijing with such humor mixed with anger is hard to understand. I am certain the anger would overwhelm me and I would struggle to keep the humor in mind.

I also enjoyed the window this opened up for me in understanding life in Communist China. Very complex and vexing, but now I feel that I do understand the balance of life; modern adaptability mixed with deep respect for ancient tradition. Similarly, I enjoyed getting to know Chen and his family through his memoir. He is a fortunate man and I hope that he reunited with his family since leaving in 1984.

I am compelled to read more of Chen's writing. I was captured by his descriptive voice and his balance of American English with Chinese imagery. I highly recommend his memoir. Except for the fairly frequent use of crude language (capturing the 18-year old vernacular) I would seriously consider this a book to teach at my middle school.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sensitive portrayal of one man's journey from Yellow River, a small farming village along the coast of Southeast China, to the Beijing Language Institute for college (to major in English.) Memoir. Paints an honest portrayal of prejudices b/w Chinese from cities versus countryside, b/w farmers and scholars, and reveals some of the hidden workings of China.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, especially in light of the recent Beijing Olympics. I can always do without adolescent antics, but that is par for the course I assume. The descriptions are beautiful and Da Chen has a very poetic way of writing.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. Chen makes reading a joy.
His story of China takes into a very fun, humble ordinary world.
Filled with extraordinary people.

A great read.

I recommend it to everyone..including high school aged readers.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

2nd part of Da Chen's life story. More engaging than Colors of the Mountain, but not one of my favorite books by any means.

[Shumei · Rating 4 out of 5]

the sequel begins with Da Chen taking his first train ride to Beijing and ends with him winning a chance to study in America.

[Ryan Paik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sounds of the River is Da Chen’s frank, down-to-earth sequel to his memoir Colours of the Mountain. In it, Da Chen describes the twists and turns of his college years in his journey of life. Born in 1962 in Fujian, China, Da Chen was a victim of “communist political persecution and hollowing poverty” according to BookBrowse. A survivor of the Cultural Revolution in China, Da Chen arrived in America when he was 23 years old with only $30 in his pocket and a flute and attended Columbia University School of Law. Later in his career in the U.S., Da Chen published his memoirs and four illustrious novels: Colours of the Mountain, China’s Son, Sounds of the River, Wandering Warrior, Brothers, Forbidden Tales: Sword, and My Last Empress - all of which explore some interesting aspect of life in China like the Cultural Revolution, Kung-Fu, and life in the imperial palace.
Sounds of the River is essentially a memoir about Da Chen’s life changing experiences in the Beijing Language Institute as part of the Class of 1983. It is his story of leaving the small rural town of Yellow Stone in the southern province of Fujian for a college in Beijing, “the center of everything.” (Sounds of the River 21). It is the story of growing up under the rule of Mao Zedong and his Communist Party, of naively hoping to leave all the constraints of the Communist Party behind in his small town, and of learning to speak English in a more cosmopolitan collegiate environment where foreigners were tolerated and spied on after Chairman Mao Zedong’s death. Through his memoir, Da Chen provides an insightful look into the mind of a Chinese youth coming to terms with a life beyond his own small town after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Da Chen describes the difficulties of keeping up with the changes of modernization and globalization in China under Chairman Deng Xiaoping in his college years. It was disappointing to realize that he was “ still trapped in this sinkhole of Communist crap, only this time, it was in the disguise of freewheeling intellectual pursuit.” (Sounds of the River 45) It was a challenge to make friends with other students from around the world on a campus where “socialization between foreigners and Chinese is forbidden.” (Sounds of the River 44) Da Chen learned to better appreciate his rural roots in light of his fast-changing, cosmopolitan experiences as a college student in Beijing. On his first visit home Da observes, “ I was stunned by how small and slanting the street had become. Not that I had grown or the town had shrunk, but something had happened. Maybe the beautiful memory of my hometown was just a creation of my longing heart and fraudulent imagination.” (Sounds of the River 122) Da Chen details his climb from the bottom to the top of his class in the intense and high pressure college environment in Beijing and what he achieves at the end of four years of college.
Da Chen’s matter of fact observations and crude descriptions and references to food, sex and defecation keep the reader entertained as he tells the rather common story of a hard working college student learning to navigate the corrupt educational and job assignment system of Communist China. Da Chen’s stories of using bribery, backstabbing, and connections to get ahead in the Chinese Communist system shows the lack of fairness in the system and the difficulties of holding onto the belief that hard work will be rewarded in the end. He comments how “it was all up to the big guys, department heads, gathered in dark rooms, playing us like little board pieces in a chess game.” (Sounds of the River 244)
Through his memoir, Da Chen gives his readers a peek into the life and challenges of studying as a Beijing college student and graduating as part of the third graduating class three years after the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. He makes it easier for Western readers to understand and relate to post-Cultural Revolution China by writing funny stories about the cultural differences and adjustments that were such an integral part of being a college student in the rapidly modernizing Beijing after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976. Da Chen is successful in making the reader reflect on his own life by walking the reader through his thought processes and his decisions regarding his goal to be the number one student in his college as well as his analysis and criticism of the Communist system as it affected his life as a student and as a college graduate. I think that his short critical comments about the corrupt educational system at his Beijing college and the even more corrupt Communist government are effective because they are not long and philosophical in nature. However, Da Chen is not as successful in convincing the reader of the reality of his nostalgic descriptions of his rural hometown, Yellow Stone, because he uses such crude language to describe what are considered delicacies of rare foods in Beijing and what are considered basics of hygiene in communal boarding life like eating, bathing, farting, having an ulcer and having diarrhea.

[Gabriel Abdeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Da Chen is a Chinese author from a deep southern village, the village was not entirely discovered, but in the book Da Chen describes it as "Yellow-Stone." Constantly in muddy fields and working with farm-like animals. Da Chen was constantly persecuted for communist political persecution, since a young age Da Chen was constantly threatened with imprisonment, father thrown in a reform camp, and family in severe poverty. The book Sounds of the River is an Autobiography, the reason being is that Da Chen doesn't refer to himself in the third person, but in the first person, this book is also entirely based on a true story. There is a certain reason why this book is illegal in China, there is historical evidence of the horrific things that Communist China has done in this book that some people may not even believe! Mainly that's why I was so intrigued to read this book, It's illegal in China! I don't believe that the authors main message was to revolt against China, but instead to tell the story of the horrific incidents both at "Yellow Stone" and at Beijing Languages and Culture University. Also imagine having to put yourself in such a risk when publishing this book, knowing that you may not be able to be allowed back in your own country, the constant threat that you put on your hometown, I believe that the reason Da Chen used "Yellow Stone" to describe his village is to protect the people that this story may correlate with.
I believe that Da Chen does a great job with trying to put the reader in his position, constantly exaggerating while describing an area is also very useful when trying to make the reader seem like they're there. Also exaggerating a person's physical features, even if Da Chen doesn't know his or her name, for example; Da Chen stumbles upon a very tall person, calling him "stick-like" which would instantly instigate that the person is both skinny and tall. Most of the characters are fairly believable, but the actions the characters do in this book makes it seem like college is just a huge frat party, but as well college could also turn out to be a hell like area. Once again I do not believe that Da Chen was trying to revolt against his college, but the actions that the characters decide to do are truly unbelievable. I believe that one of the strengths in this book is that Da Chen is able to constantly exaggerate a person's emotions, physical features, and actions, which you may not find in a lot of books. The only negative aspects of this book are the cultural barriers, which I know is not Da Chens fault at all, but I really wish that I would understand some of the cultural aspects that they do for example Da Chen talks about eating a Moon-Cake in the Mid Autumn festival, firstly what is a Moon-Cake? And secondly what is the Mid-Autumn festival all about?
I think I can relate this book to A Separate Peace both books have very similar characters, despite Gene being wealthy when he entered the school while Da Chen was very impoverished entering the school, but Abdullah and Finny being very outgoing characters risking, and fairly popular within the community, also the time these two books take place; both books take place in a time of crisis; A Separate Peace taking place during World War II, while Sounds of the River taking place during the Chinese Communist Revolution, as well as both main characters losing a very close friend. I would recommend this book to anyone! If your the adventurous type, this book is for you when Da Chen talks about his travels from "Yellow-Stone" to his collage, if your the action type, Da Chen has you covered when he talks about constantly sneaking out to ether go to parties and coming back drunk, or sneaking out to buy 'foreign cigarettes.' I believe that the only negative aspect of this book is my time being able to read this book, I was sick for a couple of days in the begging which sort of impacted me not being able to get more in depth with this book. Overall I would say that I enjoyed this book, and will recommend it to people.