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A review by itadakinasu
The Four Books by Yan Lianke
Did not finish book.
I really wanted to like The Four Books, especially since my thesis in university was about the effects of Communism on Chinese society.
Lianke's book truly exemplifies the hopelessness and meaninglessness of life under Mao's Communism. Not only are the main characters not introduced by name (rather, by nickname or profession/title), but the person responsible for their re-education regularly invents outrageous incentives to waste their time, attention, and energy chasing an imaginary prize. The tasks assigned to them are pointless and exacting, and even if they succeed there's no payoff.
Lianke did a fantastic job building and maintaining tone throughout what I read. He balanced description with dialogue well and didn't overdo the introspection. Using references to real history as well as a bit of satire, The Four Books will be enjoyed most by people interested in either Chinese history or Communism.
Unfortunately, the main strength of Lianke's book is also its biggest hurdle: the writing style.
Reading this felt like trying to dig my way out of an underground bunker with a nail file. I struggled to make even a few pages of progress over the course of over 5 months of dedicated effort. Each time I picked up The Four Books, I braced myself only to feel my eyes glaze over a few moments later.
In the past, I would have forced myself to finish the book because I bought it and already put in a few hours of effort to read it. Now though, I cherish my free time and would much rather spend it on things that I look forward to reading.
I'd recommend reading an excerpt first. If you read and enjoy the writing style in the excerpt, then there's a pretty good chance that you'll enjoy the rest of the book. It didn't do anything for me though.
Lianke's book truly exemplifies the hopelessness and meaninglessness of life under Mao's Communism. Not only are the main characters not introduced by name (rather, by nickname or profession/title), but the person responsible for their re-education regularly invents outrageous incentives to waste their time, attention, and energy chasing an imaginary prize. The tasks assigned to them are pointless and exacting, and even if they succeed there's no payoff.
Lianke did a fantastic job building and maintaining tone throughout what I read. He balanced description with dialogue well and didn't overdo the introspection. Using references to real history as well as a bit of satire, The Four Books will be enjoyed most by people interested in either Chinese history or Communism.
Unfortunately, the main strength of Lianke's book is also its biggest hurdle: the writing style.
Reading this felt like trying to dig my way out of an underground bunker with a nail file. I struggled to make even a few pages of progress over the course of over 5 months of dedicated effort. Each time I picked up The Four Books, I braced myself only to feel my eyes glaze over a few moments later.
In the past, I would have forced myself to finish the book because I bought it and already put in a few hours of effort to read it. Now though, I cherish my free time and would much rather spend it on things that I look forward to reading.
I'd recommend reading an excerpt first. If you read and enjoy the writing style in the excerpt, then there's a pretty good chance that you'll enjoy the rest of the book. It didn't do anything for me though.