“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” by Dai Sijie (China)

Favourite Quote

We were beside ourselves. My head reeled, as if I’d had too much to drink. I took the novels out of the suitcase one by one, opened them, studied the portraits of the authors, and passed them on to Luo. Brushing them with the tips of my fingers made me feel as if my pale hands were in touch with human lives.

Synopsis

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 at 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 transformed. And not only their lives: after listening to the stories of Balzac, the little seamstress will never be the same again.

Nicola’s Creative Reading Group reading list

Year 1 – “East Asia: China and Japan” (Oct 2006 – Jun 2007)

“Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” by Dai Sijie (China)
“The Good Women of China” by Xinran (China)
“Waiting” by Ha Jin (China)
“Red Dust: A Path Through China” by Ma Jian (China)
“The Girl Who Played Go” by Shan Sa (China)
“Autobiography of a Geisha” by Sayo Masuda (Japan)
“The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea” by Yukio Mishima (Japan)
“Out” by Natsuo Kirino (Japan)
“Norwegian Wood” by Haruki Murakami (Japan)