Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

By: Dai Sijie, Ina Rilke - translator

Narrated by: B.D. Wong

Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

At the height of Mao's infamous Cultural Revolution, two boys are among hundreds of thousands exiled to the countryside for "re-education." The narrator and his best friend, Luo, guilty of being the sons of doctors, find themselves in a remote village where, among the peasants of the Phoenix mountains, they are made to cart buckets of excrement up and down the precipitous winding paths. Their meager distractions include a violin - and, before long, the beautiful daughter of the local tailor.

But it is when the two discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation that their re-education takes its most surprising turn. While ingeniously concealing their forbidden treasure, the boys find transit to worlds they had thought lost forever. And after listening to their dangerously seductive retellings of Balzac, even the Little Seamstress will be forever transformed.

From within the hopelessness and terror of one of the darkest passages in human history, Dai Sijie has fashioned a beguiling and unexpected story about the resilience of the human spirit, the wonder of romantic awakening, and the magical power of storytelling.

©2001 Dai Sijie (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Paperback, 2003

"An unexpected miracle - a delicate, and often hilarious, tale." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)
"A funny, touching, sly and altogether delightful novel...about the power of art to enlarge our imaginations." (Washington Post Book World)
"Poetic and affecting...riveting." (New York Times Book Review)

Not Bad, but Not Great

If you could sum up Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress in three words, what would they be?

It took me a lot longer to read this book than expected and because of it, I got the audiobook; which by the way stopped and would no longer with only about an hour left in the recording. Anyway, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress was underwhelming. For the most part, the story is well told, but I found myself asking questions (i.e. what happened to Luo's mother? why didn't Luo or the narrator's parents pay for the early release of their sons?). I found myself, at times, wanting to read Balzac rather than this book. I was definitely angry that the Mao regime band all "cultural" books in an effort to get people conform and not have individual thoughts and thus be considered a threat to someone else's belief system. I also feel like the ending was just thrown together and it seemed like there should have been something else there. I wonder what a sequel would look like. Tieing up loose ends. Whatever happened to the Seamstress, Luo, the narrator, Four-Eyes.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I found the concept of re-education interesting

What does B.D. Wong bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like B.D. Wong as an actor, but for some reason he didn't bring to much to this story. The narration fell flat or maybe is it was the overall story.

If you could take any character from Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I've read several reviews in which reviewers ended up not liking the Seamstress, but I liked the fact that she discovered there was something more to life than Phoenix Mountain. Having said that I would like to have dinner with her to find out if "city" life met her expectations.

A great Tale sewn into real Chinese History

This is a great story set in an era when China was killing off its intellectuals and imprisioning their children. A story that reveals a whole new world to one character and gives hope for a future.

A Chinese version of Ex Machina

Any additional comments?

This little book is a gem. The language is tight, well crafted. The storyline is a bit slow to start, gathers steam in the middle, and has a surprising (sad) twist at the end. Many who have reviewed this book disparaged the ending. I do not find it as disappointing or disjointed as others. My view of Chinese stories is that they are always laced with tragedy, but from the tragic ashes rise hope, understanding and enlightenment. I feel that this book does not disappoint.

Delightfully Funny

The characters in this story were excellent and the word-painting of the author did a great job bringing images to my mind.

Interesting, Not Amazing

It was an interesting story in that it takes place during the Cultural Revolution and I’ve not read a lot of fiction set during that harrowing time. I also appreciated the main characters’ love of words and literature and found this theme enchanting. I liked how it showcased the power of books to heal and change people for the better. That said, although the book kept my attention, I’m pretty lukewarm on it overall mostly because I felt there was little closure to running themes and the ending was uneventful and sudden.

The narration was quicker than other audiobooks I've listened to, which I really appreciated. But I felt like some sentences were spoken unclearly and had to rewind multiple times to hear what was said.

Wonderful!

This is a lovely story, with fantastic narration by B.D. Wong. I've listened to it several time, and enjoyed it again and again.

Mixed Feelings

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Sijie Dai, presents the story of two young men moved from the city to the Chinese countryside to be re-educated during Mao's Cultural Revolution. The young men discover and read a number of foreign books (forbidden during the revolution), the contents of which captivate their thinking.

BLCS is beautifully written and has an evenly flowing prose. It gives a glimpse into the toils and struggles so many in history have had to endure. For the most part, I found reading it relaxing and enjoyable.

As a whole, though, I cannot give an enthusiastic recommendation. First, the plot wasn't overly gripping; while I finished it in two sittings, there was rarely a spot where it wouldn't have been easy to put it down. While the narrative contained some twists and turns, it was for the most part linear and often predictable. Ultimately, the story's conclusion left me unsatisfied.

I think a word of warning is also in order for those who are sensitive about mature themes. BLCS contains some crudeness and graphic imagery, as well as some explicit sensuality. Additionally, an important component of the plot deals in a matter-of-fact way with a subject that is divisive and many find offensive.

Ho hum

I was expecting better based on other reviews and the seductive artwork and title. This was okay to pretty good, but I've read/heard more riveting tales recently.

Lovely But Reads More As YA

While Balzac and the Little Seamstress has hard-hitting themes and truly poetical language, it comes off more as for Young Adults than anything else. Maybe it's BD Wong's narration--even though the boys grow into young men during the course of the story, his tones are those of an overgrown boy--which, judging from their actions, they most certainly are.
They can be harsh and judgmental of those around them; they could perform acts of rebellious cruelty; they can look down upon the little seamstress as though they're gods from on high.
Don't get me wrong: it's not a bad book, it's just that the boys, sent to be re-educated can come off as lacking in empathy. What they do, whom they trick and torment to get the stash of classic books, bears this out.
One thing--their intelligence and sense of lyricism can make them spot the beauty in their environment and makes the prose sometimes lovely, sometimes harsh. Really well-written.
Still, at just over 4-hours, it's not a hard listen, and it can add to awareness of Chinese history, of Mao's conduct within the country.
A decent way to spend a few hours, but unless you're into a sense of fables for young adults, I'd wait for a Credit-Bundle or Daily Deal.

Sweet Little Book

A short story about two adolescent boys sent to the hinter lands for "reeducation" during China's cultural revolution. The story is interesting in terms of the insights it gives about China during this time and the impact reeducation had for these young boys when sent away from their families. You learn, for example, that boys are boys anywhere on earth (ditto for small town people). The story is very easy to listen to and well written. Ultimately, I compared it to cotton candy - sweet and fun, but leaving you hungry with not a lot of substance.