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gisbornius's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.0
Started strong, lost its way.
a_serpent_with_corners's review
Incredibly funny, especially the final section. China might undergo seismic changes in the years the stories cover, but Wang Er proves that being a (loveable) loser is FOREVER.
alguienmescucha's review against another edition
1.0
Me recomendaron este libro como un clásico moderno de la literatura asiática. Me hizo reír exactamente 2 veces. El resto del tiempo estuvo lleno de cringe. Por momentos leía en voz alta algunas oraciones para estar segura que realmente decía eso. Menos mal que era cortito, no sé si lo hubiera podido terminar si hubiera tenido más páginas. Nunca rechazo tanto un libro, quizás lo vuelva a leer en otro momento. Ahora, en lo que pienso es en el principio de la canción Nobody but Me de The Human Beinz.
unhingedreader's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
rizzfitz's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the funniest novels I've read, full of vulgarity and extremely dark humor. I also love any audiobook read by the talented Brian Nishii, and the gift of Yan Yan's translation of this in 2022 made this a must read for me.
This book spirals around the lives of people that the protagonist Wang Er has known and collected stories from over decades. When you get to the bottom of one character fully, the author zooms out and jumps into another person and makes them real by spinning yarn after yarn.
Mandatory reading for those like me trying to understand the violence and aftermath of the cultural revolution, but who are, like the protagonist Wang Er, silly, lazy, slacker-ish brutes who prefer to have the truth served with a spoonful of satirical sugar and plenty of chaos.
One thing that's worth saying, and you can fight me later, is that for all the T&A, there's also a lot of a) plain old love and b) male full frontal nudity. I'm not going to say this passes the Bechdel test since this is characterization stitched together with horny hijinx rather than a fully built world. It's on par with a 2022 HBO show in terms of it's portrayal of sex and women and I'd say that's key because it was written a few decades ago. I think it holds up fine. I found the protagonist refreshing in his dealing with women. He reminds me of the more desirable men I know who have always had close friends who are women. He writes women characters who embrace sex scarily well. And dare I say, there's some love here amongst all the romps, though it comes out so gently that it's somehow more touching than I'd planned for it to be. I expected this not to be regressive, mostly since I knew Wang Xiaobo acquainted many with LGBTQIA love and life in China in other works.
Is this work literary? Yes, confirmed by millions since the 90s who are more concerned why you would expect it not to be based on its appearance in translation and its lasting popularity. I refer you to the introduction. Wang Xiaobo writes brilliantly.
Does it also have the phrase "silly cunts" and extended jokes about one guy being kicked in the groin? Yes. Yes, it does. Irreverent but not tawdry in my opinion, but, to be fair, I was also, like the protagonist, raised outside of accepted practices of decorum.
This book spirals around the lives of people that the protagonist Wang Er has known and collected stories from over decades. When you get to the bottom of one character fully, the author zooms out and jumps into another person and makes them real by spinning yarn after yarn.
Mandatory reading for those like me trying to understand the violence and aftermath of the cultural revolution, but who are, like the protagonist Wang Er, silly, lazy, slacker-ish brutes who prefer to have the truth served with a spoonful of satirical sugar and plenty of chaos.
One thing that's worth saying, and you can fight me later, is that for all the T&A, there's also a lot of a) plain old love and b) male full frontal nudity. I'm not going to say this passes the Bechdel test since this is characterization stitched together with horny hijinx rather than a fully built world. It's on par with a 2022 HBO show in terms of it's portrayal of sex and women and I'd say that's key because it was written a few decades ago. I think it holds up fine. I found the protagonist refreshing in his dealing with women. He reminds me of the more desirable men I know who have always had close friends who are women. He writes women characters who embrace sex scarily well. And dare I say, there's some love here amongst all the romps, though it comes out so gently that it's somehow more touching than I'd planned for it to be. I expected this not to be regressive, mostly since I knew Wang Xiaobo acquainted many with LGBTQIA love and life in China in other works.
Is this work literary? Yes, confirmed by millions since the 90s who are more concerned why you would expect it not to be based on its appearance in translation and its lasting popularity. I refer you to the introduction. Wang Xiaobo writes brilliantly.
Does it also have the phrase "silly cunts" and extended jokes about one guy being kicked in the groin? Yes. Yes, it does. Irreverent but not tawdry in my opinion, but, to be fair, I was also, like the protagonist, raised outside of accepted practices of decorum.
pickle_burner's review against another edition
4.0
As an American without any real sense of the (various) Chinese language(s), nor with a real sense of the social tumult of the Cultural Revolution, the highest compliment that I can pay this novel and its author Wang Xiaobo (and its English translator Yan Yan) is that it is extremely funny while entertaining a deep undercurrent of seriousness and tragedy. I suspect that much of this collection went over my head because of the aforementioned lack of social context. However, there’s enough here that any reader of similar background will find their hand and foot holds throughout.
Not a novel in the traditional sense, but three novellas with overlapping characters and a consistent theme. The language is straightforward and Yan Yan’s translation is really quite nimble and culturally aware. At times, the heavy focus on sex and the sexes reminded of Bukowski, but without some of the viciousness; at other times I was reminded of Bohumil Hrabal, another intellectual citizen of a communist country that didn’t quite fit or tow the party lines. Neither Hrabal nor Wang are anti-communist, per se, but rather, both have questions and raise the realities of the messiness of human life and desire in systems that try to mythologize those realities away (in the west, we use religion and “free” market economics to do the same).
Taken as a whole, this book is extremely funny and also devastating. Very much worth your time.
Not a novel in the traditional sense, but three novellas with overlapping characters and a consistent theme. The language is straightforward and Yan Yan’s translation is really quite nimble and culturally aware. At times, the heavy focus on sex and the sexes reminded of Bukowski, but without some of the viciousness; at other times I was reminded of Bohumil Hrabal, another intellectual citizen of a communist country that didn’t quite fit or tow the party lines. Neither Hrabal nor Wang are anti-communist, per se, but rather, both have questions and raise the realities of the messiness of human life and desire in systems that try to mythologize those realities away (in the west, we use religion and “free” market economics to do the same).
Taken as a whole, this book is extremely funny and also devastating. Very much worth your time.
lilithzoldyck's review against another edition
Creo que no he leído la palabra "golfa" más veces en toda mi vida.
nicetsukki's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Take a shot every time Wang Er talks about a woman's breasts.
(In all seriousness, the way women were written in this was horrible. Took away most of my enjoyment for this novel).
(In all seriousness, the way women were written in this was horrible. Took away most of my enjoyment for this novel).