|
|  |
How to ...? |
 |
|
|  |
School Programmes |
 |
|
|  |
Browse ... |
 |
|
| |
Information |
|
|
Two boys, both sons of doctors, are sent to the top of a mountain for "re-education" in Mao's China; an education that involves carting buckets of excrement up and down precipitous paths. They discover instead the discreet charm of bourgeois literature and the local tailor's attractive daughter.
An enchanting literary debut--already an international best-seller.
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 Phoenix mountain, they are made to cart buckets of excrement up and down precipitous winding paths. Their meager distractions include a violin--as well as, 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. ... from the American hardcover edition
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is an enchanting tale that captures the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening. An immediate international bestseller, it tells the story of two hapless city boys exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. There the two friends meet the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation. As they flirt with the seamstress and secretly devour these banned works, the two friends find transit from their grim surroundings to worlds they never imagined. ... from the American paperback edition
| 
 |
|
|
 |
  The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
David Mitchell
Set in Japan in the early 19th-century, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is part historical fiction, part mystery/thriller, and part swashbuckler. That the author, David Mitchell, can pull all this together is a tribute to his... [ Read full review ] |
|
|
