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| Plot Summary of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress |
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"An excellent read, which is a fairytale like story of two
city boys who are banished to the countryside in China as
part of the "re-education" program in 1971. The escapades of the narrator and his friend Luo are simultaneously
funny and bittersweet. They encounter the "most beautiful girl in all the nearby villages" (the Little Seamstress)
and she becomes Luo's girlfriend. The boys then stumble
upon books by French greats (Balzan and Duman and Romain Rolland) in a time when all books are forbidden except the propaganda materials.
Die Sijie, a filmmaker from France, won numerous awards
in France for this one, his first novel. Die himself
went through such a reeducation program in the early '70s.
This small book is first and foremost a great and easy read as a very engaging story.
"
R Prasad, Resident Scholar
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"1971: Mao's Cultural Revolution is at its peak. Two sons of doctors, sent to 're-education' camps, forced to carry buckets of excrement up and down mountain paths, have only their sense of humour to keep them going. Although the attractive daughter of the local tailor also helps to distract them from the task in hand.
The boys' true re-education starts, however, when they discover a hidden suitcase packed with the great Western novels of the Nineteenth Century. Their lives are tranformed. And not only their lives: after listening to the stories of Balzac, the little seamstress will never be the same again."
Steve Slack, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- love triangle/polygon
Inside culture (main char)
- Chinese
Other aspects:
- story of the poor
Culture clash?
- Being oppressed by outside culture
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- Chinese
If story of urban/rural...
- Small town life
War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians
Yes
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Conflict:
- Revolution, general
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- student
- accused criminal
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Chinese
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
- society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
- throughout most of the book.
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- bulging muscles
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 8 (a significant amount)
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- China
Mountains/Cliffs
Yes
Mountains:
- climbing on trails
- falling off
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- impregnation/reproduction
- actual description of hetero sex
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- little dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Dai Sijie Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Steve Slack
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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