Reviews

The Ancient Ship by Zhang Wei, Wei Zhang

amblygon_writes's review

3.0

I was so drawn to the characters in this book. They felt so alive, and I really enjoyed getting into their minds. I also really enjoyed scenes that were more 'mundane': descriptions of food, accounting numbers, etc. My biggest problem with this book was the jumping around in time (probably more my fault than the book's, first, because I haven't brushed up on China's modern history in a while, and second, because I read it in sporadic bursts) so I felt quite confused about where we were and what exactly was happening/had already happened.

garseta's review against another edition

Not memorable.

kathleenitpdx's review

4.0

This story is set in a small town and takes us from the arrival of the communists through to the 80's. It takes us through wars, famine, and purges as well as the ups and downs of the town's glass noodle factory from private ownership to corrupt management to "upright" management. It is sometimes difficult to follow the time shifts in the story.

Part of the fascination for me is that the book was published in China a couple of years before Tienanmen Square. And despite the negative portrayal of some of the events the author is evidently still in the good graces of the Chinese regime.