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the_escape_artist_'s review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book, I'm glad I read it, but honestly it was heavy and I didn't love the writing style. I think it is worth reading, I didn't know anything about the Chinese socio-political history of the past 100 years and this book was a good primer that encouraged me to read and research more....Maybe I should give it a higher start rating.
sawyerai's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
daja57's review
3.0
I found this a curiously muddled novel. The frame story, which I found distracting and, to some extent, redundant, involves Marie Jiang, a Canadian of Chinese descent trying to discover what has happened to her missing dad with the help of Ai-ming, an illegal immigrant from China who is staying with her family. The main narrative concerns the history of how Marie's father, Jiang Kai, once a renowned concert pianist was involved with Sparrow, a composer, the father of the immigrant, and Sparrow's extended family: his uncle Wen the Dreamer and Wen's daughter, violin student Zhuli, Sparrow's mother, Big Mother, and father, long marcher Ba Lute, and others. This is mostly their history, focusing on how the events of the cultural revolution affected Jiang Kai, Sparrow and Zhuli, and how the student protests in Tienanmen Square affected Sparrow and Ai-ming.
The PoV head hops between the principal characters; we are able to hear the thoughts of Saprro and Zhuli, of Marie and Ai-ming and Wen the dreamer, and to a certain extent of the other characters. Given the complex nature of the story, and the revolving cast, such that there is no single character who can narrate the entire story, this way of telling the story is probably inevitable.
Perhaps it is a sort of Doctor Zhivago for China. It reminded me also of Wild Swans by Jung Chang.
There's also another story, that of the apocryphal and fragmentary Book of Records, incomplete and copied by hand and curated mostly by Wen the Dreamer, who uses the repeated copies to encode hints as to what happened to him and others during the purges of the cultural revolution. This Book, and Sparrow's music, symbolise both the fragility and endurance of art.
There's also a theme about systems of coding (primarily linguistic and musical, but also mathematical) and their ambiguities (Chinese characters can, it seems, be interpreted in a number of ways). It's about recording histories in the face of the destruction of records and the distortions of truth implemented by governments.
It is a complicated novel and quite long-winded; I had to break it into small chunks and read it over an extended period of time to manage it. The principal characters (Swallow, Zhuli, and Jiang Kai) are complex and real; others such as Big Mother and Ba Lute are Dickensian in that they are larger than life but quite one-dimensional. It paints a compelling picture of a very alien society and its upheaval. But it's hard work and a more straightforward narrative with a simpler structure and a smaller cast would have been more entertaining. Nevertheless, I suspect that poor Swallow and conflicted Jiang Kai will stay with me long after characters from lesser novels are forgotten.
The PoV head hops between the principal characters; we are able to hear the thoughts of Saprro and Zhuli, of Marie and Ai-ming and Wen the dreamer, and to a certain extent of the other characters. Given the complex nature of the story, and the revolving cast, such that there is no single character who can narrate the entire story, this way of telling the story is probably inevitable.
Perhaps it is a sort of Doctor Zhivago for China. It reminded me also of Wild Swans by Jung Chang.
There's also another story, that of the apocryphal and fragmentary Book of Records, incomplete and copied by hand and curated mostly by Wen the Dreamer, who uses the repeated copies to encode hints as to what happened to him and others during the purges of the cultural revolution. This Book, and Sparrow's music, symbolise both the fragility and endurance of art.
There's also a theme about systems of coding (primarily linguistic and musical, but also mathematical) and their ambiguities (Chinese characters can, it seems, be interpreted in a number of ways). It's about recording histories in the face of the destruction of records and the distortions of truth implemented by governments.
It is a complicated novel and quite long-winded; I had to break it into small chunks and read it over an extended period of time to manage it. The principal characters (Swallow, Zhuli, and Jiang Kai) are complex and real; others such as Big Mother and Ba Lute are Dickensian in that they are larger than life but quite one-dimensional. It paints a compelling picture of a very alien society and its upheaval. But it's hard work and a more straightforward narrative with a simpler structure and a smaller cast would have been more entertaining. Nevertheless, I suspect that poor Swallow and conflicted Jiang Kai will stay with me long after characters from lesser novels are forgotten.
bethebluebook's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
prettypious's review against another edition
5.0
This book took a super long time to read cause I ain’t have the range. I had to keep stopping and researching China history. That the book motivated me to do so speaks to just how good it truly is. Highly recommend
annieg's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The quote on the front it's broad and detailed is very accurate, tiny details with a broad history. It's a compelling historical event but I think I missed alot of the point about music
alexanderjamie's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
An inter-generational saga, starting with the May Fourth generation and ending with the Tiananmen Square generation, covering the period between 1940 and 1989. The story centers around a family of musicians - the bourgeoisie in an emerging communist society - and centers around the relationship between the people and the party. It covers events such as the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre in vivid on the ground detail. I love intergenerational stories which incorporate history and politics and so I really loved this book. The part that takes place in the modern day felt like it could have been better elaborated on - feeling like short intermissions rather than its own part of the story. I’m not a classical music person so I was a bit confused by mentions of Bach and the like. Nonetheless, as a whole, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.
annrhub's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jayelpr's review against another edition
2.0
I tried to like this book. Unfortunately, I found it very slow to start. Things picked up a bit around 40%, but then trailed off. Madeleine uses lots of characters and different story lines, making it difficult to get into.
I enjoyed some of the characters (Zhuli, Sparrow), and felt for them as we learned of the horrific experiences during the Chinese revolutions.
I enjoyed some of the characters (Zhuli, Sparrow), and felt for them as we learned of the horrific experiences during the Chinese revolutions.
lisamchuk's review against another edition
5.0
How do I describe this book? This book travels back and forth in time, loosely narrated by Ma-li, covering her youth and adulthood. Ma-li lives in Vancouver Canada, and she starts narrating in 1991. The other characters include her father, and his early life in China during the Cultural Revolution, and a family that includes Big Mother Knife, Swirl, Sparrow, Zhuli and Ai-Ming. Their story goes from World War II until the final climax during the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Like I said, it jumps back and forth through time and character perspective, held together by the flow of music, as many of the characters are classical musicians. This book is, first and foremost, an education in communist China.
And oh boy was it good! Finally I got around to reading a well written book! As it should be, Thien won all the prizes and awards in 2016! The prose is so...lyrical - mostly because it's centred around music, but also because of the Chinese influence of vocabulary and characters. I really enjoyed the journey. Some people may find it disjointed and hard to keep the characters straight, but I didn't. Even though it flip flopped, it flowed, like it was held together as a symphony.
I'm a big fan of Jan Wong' China series, so I know a bit about communist China, and nothing that happened was shocking to me, but still, very sad and just crazy that the government did what they did to the people, to the culture, to multiple generations. It really reminded me of the intergenerational trauma that is talked about in Indigenous writing. Though a bit of a heavy summer read, this was an excellent books and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about China's recent history, anyone who likes classical music, and anyone who needs a break from bad writing, and Thien is certainly a wordsmith!
And oh boy was it good! Finally I got around to reading a well written book! As it should be, Thien won all the prizes and awards in 2016! The prose is so...lyrical - mostly because it's centred around music, but also because of the Chinese influence of vocabulary and characters. I really enjoyed the journey. Some people may find it disjointed and hard to keep the characters straight, but I didn't. Even though it flip flopped, it flowed, like it was held together as a symphony.
I'm a big fan of Jan Wong' China series, so I know a bit about communist China, and nothing that happened was shocking to me, but still, very sad and just crazy that the government did what they did to the people, to the culture, to multiple generations. It really reminded me of the intergenerational trauma that is talked about in Indigenous writing. Though a bit of a heavy summer read, this was an excellent books and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about China's recent history, anyone who likes classical music, and anyone who needs a break from bad writing, and Thien is certainly a wordsmith!