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fast-paced
Kina genom 1900talet, framförallt enorm fattigdom och den med fattigdom medföljande typen av hopplös sorg där varje liten glädje bara är en kontrast, eller tom medel som möjliggör nästa lidande. Inte sentimental, vilket hade gjort den oläsbar, men ändå fast i en grå hopplös möda.
Tar med mig enbart den märkliga skillnaden mellan våra kulturer som består i att man i Kina tydligen i tid och otid bär runt på människor.
Tar med mig enbart den märkliga skillnaden mellan våra kulturer som består i att man i Kina tydligen i tid och otid bär runt på människor.
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one touches on some heavy truths – taking turns you'll never see coming which I think models life quite well. Yu Hua: "I understand now better than ever why I write — all of my effort is directed at getting as close as possible to reality.” I feel To Live taught me much about risk and fortune (mostly misfortune and tragedy) and friendship and love (how the human spirit endures death's heavy hand and fate's cruelty). It's hard not to feel trapped by horror and hardship and I don't think To Live sets out to provide an escape to such things, rather it posits that survival is often as simple as waking up to a new day and finding the strength –in spite of death, fate, and man-made horrors– in ourselves to just keep living. In this way, To Live is a kind of lesson in moderation: it warns us that if you go on wanting or striving for this or that thing you'll end up, more often than not, paying for it with your life. It's better, it seems, to live an ordinary life. Yu Hua denies the picturesque life with its beautiful sunsets, with its family meals, with its idea that peace awaits those who toil away under unbearable heat – there is no light at the end of the tunnel but there are glimpses of it along the way. Only by being alive can we experience the joys and sorrows of life and truly feel the meaning of it.
Deceptively simple prose, but packed with heart-wrenching emotion. It is no surprise this book was both banned and so heavily praised and awarded.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I hate that I feel this way but I really didn't enjoy this book like I thought I would. The constant tragedies and unfortunate circumstances felt as if the author was forcing the reader to react emotionally. Because of that, I didn't particularly feel moved by anything that happened. The writing style was also not my cup of tea. Of course not all books need to have poetic, descriptive prose but the writing really felt flat and plain. I did enjoy Fugui as a character but I wish the book dove a little deeper.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly one of the best books I have read. I had to read this for a college level World Lit class and fell into the book really quickly. The characters are believable. They are flawed and broken and Yu Hua writes them in a way that I connected with very easily. Each character I related in a different way and I can see faults, shortcoming, as well as good characteristics of each character in myself.
The favorite part of this book was the look it took into being human and what it means to be human. China took away basically everything from Fugui, he was broken beyond anything I could imagine. But he remained human; he held onto his humanity with everything he had. And at the end of his life, as he is plowing alone in the fields, he is able to look back on his life with happiness and it has a sort of cathartic effect on him.
Beautifully written, quite captivating. Well written characters. What made this book really stand out for me was the deeper meaning that I was able to find within its pages. Will definitely re-read.
The favorite part of this book was the look it took into being human and what it means to be human. China took away basically everything from Fugui, he was broken beyond anything I could imagine. But he remained human; he held onto his humanity with everything he had. And at the end of his life, as he is plowing alone in the fields, he is able to look back on his life with happiness and it has a sort of cathartic effect on him.
Beautifully written, quite captivating. Well written characters. What made this book really stand out for me was the deeper meaning that I was able to find within its pages. Will definitely re-read.