Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress in Around the World in 80 Books

May 15, 2015 Joanne rated it liked it

Shelves: generalfiction

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book. From the very beginning, I was struck by the similarities of this book and The Scavenger's Daughter. The re-education of Mao, the violin being a prized and hidden possession, and of course, the books. This translation was a good one; I enjoyed the style. I wish there was a little more to the end.

Also, what I found most intriguing about this book is that the plot seemed very much to me a familiar analogue. I've read quite a bit of African literature lately and the ...more

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Jul 18, 2007 Cortney rated it liked it

I enjoyed reading this book and was drawn into the story and lives of the two boys. The details of their lives in China were provoking and I appreciated learning about a life I never want to experience myself...the beauty of literature in less than 200 pages! This book inspired me to read more and was worth every minute I spent with it. At one point I was anxious for some kind of climax to the book, but this story is more like a compilation of all the important things that happened to these youn ...more

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Aug 28, 2009 Erin (NY) rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, rory-gilmore-list, read-in-2011

This book was ok. The story was not very exciting, but I found that I was lost in the descriptions and I could picture myself in the scene. The story only picked up in the very end.

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Dec 15, 2007 Madeleine rated it it was ok

Nice story but I've read a few non-fiction things about the Cultural Revolution that made more of an impact. A good, quick , thought-provoking read though. ...more

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