Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Rating: ★

Method of Reading: Personally owned paperback novel read for a high school English class, 184 pages
Dates of Reading: April 4, 2011-April 5, 2011
Author: Dai Sijie
Publication Year: 2000 (in English, 2001)
Recommended To: Unless you're super-interested in the Chinese Cultural Revolution... no.
Quotes:
Movie: Yes, and when we had to watch it in class, I was internally screaming "WHY?" for a couple hours.

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balzac_and_the_Little_Chinese_Seamstress
Link: http:/.www.gradesaver.com/balzac-and-the-little-chinese-seamstress/wikipedia/plot-summary/

My View: I admit that I had to read this for class and had a less than inspiring teacher who really hyped this book to a place where disappointment was inevitable. So this review is doomed to be negative.
   So here it goes. Eh-hem... "This novel was not entertaining, inventive, or grabbing. As far as I can see, it's a sub-par and inartistic arrangement of 'popular' plot points stocked with average characters, thrown together in a weak effort to make a story, and then placed in the middle of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, adding more useless and confusing 'drama.' I had high hopes for this book, especially since the class had just read Asher Lev, but this was a major disappointment. I do not understand its critical acclaim, although I am open to all explanations."


Always,
Your Bibliomaniac

Bibliographic info:
Dai, Sijie, and Ina Rilke. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. New York: Knopf, 2001. Print.