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victoriathuyvi's review against another edition
2.0
I'm disappointed for many reasons: the translation is so distracting. The book is riddled with so many typos and grammatical errors. As for the book itself, I think I would have rated it a solid 3 stars if the technical issues did not hinder my reading experience. Plot-wise, too much meandering and repetition.
jackalop3's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
rheagoveas's review
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jayisreading's review against another edition
medium-paced
1.75
I won’t lie, I found myself skimming towards the end of the book because I loathed the protagonist, Shengqiang. I’ve read my fair share of books where I didn’t like the characters but still enjoyed the book. Something about The Chiilli Bean Paste Clan did not work for me, though, and I just found myself frustrated with the whole thing. What definitely didn’t help was all the misogyny and sexism on nearly every page… most of which was coming from Shengqiang himself.
In the translator’s acknowledgments, Harman stated that she worked closely with the author herself, to make sure that all the subtleties of the dialect were accurately depicted. The thing about translation is that, sometimes, accuracy isn’t always the best, especially if it ruins flow. One particular instance of this being an issue (and I noticed some other reviewers have pointed this out) is the mixing of Britishisms and Americanisms.
I’m disappointed that I ended up disliking this so much, because the title was what really caught my attention, and even the plot sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, the protagonist and the translation frustrated me too much to appreciate this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Cursing, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment and Death
waxwwing's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
hardcoverhearts's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
vcods's review against another edition
2.0
The Chilli Bean Paste Factory tells the story of a complicated Chinese family interweaving their lives with the changes in China's socio-economic history and showing that ultimately the family members are inexorably linked individuals each trying to play the game to their personal advantage.
The narrative is engaging, if slightly predictable due to the misogynist main character Xue Shengqiang, 'Dad' being blind to the schemes around him while thinking he is the best schemer of them all. The structure is interesting in that it tries to recount the story as if Dad's daughter Xingxing is the narrator, hence everyone being called 'Dad', 'Mum', 'Uncle', and 'Gran' etc. However, this just needlessly complicates things for the reader who never meets Xingxing herself and is constantly having to deal with everyone referring to Gran as 'Mother.' Bits of the story are told as if repeating a story that the narrator has been told, "Mum told me...", but other sections read as the inner thoughts of Dad or the other characters, which a re-telling narrator shouldn't know.
There is also a lot of fluidity in the timeline as Dad reminisces about the past or certain incidents are recalled by moments of déjà vu pleasure or pain. While this does allow for a more intricate portrait of the clan's inner workings and the personal histories that have created the present day characters, it is not always clear as to when these sections end and the reader can easily lose their place in the present day story. This issue is not helped by the inconsistencies of register and types of slang throughout the novel. In the translator's afterward, Nicky Harman says that she worked intimately with the author Yang Ge, who is highly proficient in English, to achieve a colourful swearing vocabulary which the author felt accurately reflected her hometown, on which Pingle Town is based. While I admire the effort and the collaboration between author and translator, I do not feel they were successful in anchoring time nor place. Much of the swearing used seems too contemporary for a character who is supposedly in his forties, and in some of the scenes set in the past slang or swearing is used that can throw the English reader's sense of temporality due to their use being too modern for the 'historical' setting. Phrases like "deep doodoo" are also used and read too immature and young for the foul-mouthed adulterer.
Other instances of questionable translation choice are the cropping up of 'British-isms' in the language of rural Chinese people. Perhaps, as I am an American reader, these stuck out much stronger for me than other readers, but they did immediately bring me out of the story when I came across them, especially since the story uses a lot of American feeling slang as well. There are also a lot of English idioms used to make the text feel more colloquial, but I kind of wish a more foreignized approach of keeping the Chinese idioms in place if their meaning could be reasonably understood. The biggest issue I have with the translation is Dad calling all of his drinking buddies his 'bros' which annoyed me every time is showed up, it is such an American Frat Boy term that it feel diametrically opposed to a middle-aged Chinese business man, no matter how sleazy and misogynist he may be.
While I have issues with choices made by the translator and author, I do feel that they created an engaging and entertaining voice for the character of Dad, who made me love to hate him so much that I managed to finish the book despite it all.
The narrative is engaging, if slightly predictable due to the misogynist main character Xue Shengqiang, 'Dad' being blind to the schemes around him while thinking he is the best schemer of them all. The structure is interesting in that it tries to recount the story as if Dad's daughter Xingxing is the narrator, hence everyone being called 'Dad', 'Mum', 'Uncle', and 'Gran' etc. However, this just needlessly complicates things for the reader who never meets Xingxing herself and is constantly having to deal with everyone referring to Gran as 'Mother.' Bits of the story are told as if repeating a story that the narrator has been told, "Mum told me...", but other sections read as the inner thoughts of Dad or the other characters, which a re-telling narrator shouldn't know.
There is also a lot of fluidity in the timeline as Dad reminisces about the past or certain incidents are recalled by moments of déjà vu pleasure or pain. While this does allow for a more intricate portrait of the clan's inner workings and the personal histories that have created the present day characters, it is not always clear as to when these sections end and the reader can easily lose their place in the present day story. This issue is not helped by the inconsistencies of register and types of slang throughout the novel. In the translator's afterward, Nicky Harman says that she worked intimately with the author Yang Ge, who is highly proficient in English, to achieve a colourful swearing vocabulary which the author felt accurately reflected her hometown, on which Pingle Town is based. While I admire the effort and the collaboration between author and translator, I do not feel they were successful in anchoring time nor place. Much of the swearing used seems too contemporary for a character who is supposedly in his forties, and in some of the scenes set in the past slang or swearing is used that can throw the English reader's sense of temporality due to their use being too modern for the 'historical' setting. Phrases like "deep doodoo" are also used and read too immature and young for the foul-mouthed adulterer.
Other instances of questionable translation choice are the cropping up of 'British-isms' in the language of rural Chinese people. Perhaps, as I am an American reader, these stuck out much stronger for me than other readers, but they did immediately bring me out of the story when I came across them, especially since the story uses a lot of American feeling slang as well. There are also a lot of English idioms used to make the text feel more colloquial, but I kind of wish a more foreignized approach of keeping the Chinese idioms in place if their meaning could be reasonably understood. The biggest issue I have with the translation is Dad calling all of his drinking buddies his 'bros' which annoyed me every time is showed up, it is such an American Frat Boy term that it feel diametrically opposed to a middle-aged Chinese business man, no matter how sleazy and misogynist he may be.
While I have issues with choices made by the translator and author, I do feel that they created an engaging and entertaining voice for the character of Dad, who made me love to hate him so much that I managed to finish the book despite it all.
juliechonou's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
catherineneeds's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0