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)

perfect

Favorite novel. absolutely perfect. there is not much else I can say. i will listen over and over forever

A look into the re education of China's youth

I learned about life in the re education program in China after Mao 's take over in the 60's. What a eye opener! Throughly enjoyed the characters.

Captivating short story filled with great literary references and beautiful Insight into another time and place

Very nice story, perfect for listening in between lengthier novels, as a breather or a rest but no less interesting or rewarding. This intriguing tale leaves you with the most perfect and unexpected ending . I loved this, it made my day.

Culture Shock

What a wonderfully enlightening (and slightly shocking) introduction to Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution in China during the 1970's. I had never studied nor read books about this historical period so this story turned out to be both entertaining and educational for me. The narrator was effective and the story flowed seamlessly to a somewhat quick conclusion. I listened to the book on a road trip and I was rather disappointed to see the book end when I still had many questions left unanswered. I recommend this story to the listener seeking cultural diversity and historical perspective.

I finally understand The Cultural Revolution.

I have long heard good things about Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, and I really liked it.

I thought the choice of B. D. Wong as narrator was interesting as he's Chinese-American, but of course on an audiobook, you don't see the narrator so there's no reason to have found someone of the appropriate ethnicity (particularly as he doesn't have an accent, and presumably - although I haven't researched - English is his first language.) But I liked that detail as I did picture him as the main character.

Our hero and his friend Luo have been sent out to a rural village during the Chinese Cultural Revolution to learn how to appreciate the proletariat. They are subjected to demeaning, backbreaking work, but all the boredom and stress melts away when they discover the beautiful daughter of the region's tailor, and a stash of translated Western novels.

The novel was very evocative. I found myself physically recoiling at some very accurate imagery more than once, as I was out walking. I would make faces, clench up, and sometimes even try to move out of the way, as the descriptions were so visceral that they seemed real. B. D. Wong was good at giving the different characters different voices, and I never was confused about who was speaking. With the Chinese names, I was a little glad to have someone else pronouncing them instead of me guessing, although many of the characters didn't even have names, but nicknames, like "Four Eyes," the owner of the illegal novels.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress was a romantic, delicate story that opened my eyes to the Cultural Revolution (I had heard it referenced before but never understood what it was.) A fine gem, the book has moments of humor, fancy, danger, and passion.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Mistress

This is perfect book. The story is fascinating, the characters approachable, and the text is well crafted. Most of all it is a colorful, enchanting picture of life in China during the Cultural Revolution, an event that I knew formerly only through the dry faacts of history.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Very thought provoking -- enchanting -- it was just wonderful.

For those college students looking for quick answe

SPOILER ALERT





the whole story is about two city teens send for rededication onto a mountain. they live in a small village for some time, a love triangle happens when they run into the little seamstress. they steal four-eyes(comedic relief) suit case which contains Western books. Balzac the author of one of the books. they teach it to the seamstress and in the end she leaves them for the city because she finds the value of her beauty. "Bro's before hoes"

Great little read

Two city boys are sent into the country for re-education. Set in China in 1970's when Mao was the ruler. I really enjoyed the narration.

Great

The narration for this story is excellent - BD Wong does a superior job. The story itself starts out a little shaky, but ends up being a fantastic story. It is the story of the "re-education" of youths during the 1970's under the rule of Mao Tse-tung. This book really shows the midset of the country at the time and the plot is truly a great one.