What we thought:
Set in China is the mid 1970s, two young men are sent to the mountains to be ‘re-educated’ by the peasants, as their crime is to be the sons of a doctor and a dentist. Luo falls in love with a tailor’s daughter and the boys win her over by telling stories of the classics. They acquire a case full of prohibited books and retell the stories and educate her instead …
A beautiful and poignant little book.
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Synopsis/Review:
‘Born in China in 1954, Dai Sijie is a filmmaker who was himself 're-educated' between 1971 and 1974, and left China in 1984 for France, where he has lived and worked ever since. This, his first novel, was an overnight sensation when it appeared in France in 2000, became an immediate bestseller and won five prizes. Rights to the novel have been sold in twenty-five countries.’ (About the Author – Amazon) |
