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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
At least as brutal as the Garlic Ballads. Set during the Chinese civil war / Japanese occupation with a few bits at the end during the Cultural Revolution.
Apparently the author comes from Shandong, which was occupied by the Japanese. The picture of the Japanese occupation is horrific.
Story jumps around all over the place.
A bit like magic realism, except that there's no magic.
Not a very flattering picture of anyone, but everyone apart from the Japanese comes across as human. Found it hard to relate to the characters personally though, probably because their circumstances were so different to mine.
It's probably a 5 star book, but I was a bit tired of Mo Yan, reading this straight after the Garlic Ballads.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
19.08.2013
Le mie impressioni riguardo a questo romanzo sono ancora piuttosto confuse e contrastanti.
Non saprei dire se mi sia effettivamente piaciuto oppure no. So che a tratti mi ha trascinato, soprattutto nell'ultima metà, dove le vicende personali e familiari dei protagonisti iniziano a delinearsi maggiormente, ad assumere un significato più chiaro, ma a tratti mi ha lasciata indifferente, se non nauseata per la crudezza di alcune descrizioni. Crudezza che in un certo senso posso giustificare - come ha detto qualcuno qui, è guerra senza retorica - ma a volte mi è sembrato fosse ricercatata con fin troppa insistenza e morbosità. Certo, la violenza è spesso mitigata dalle descrizioni liriche, legate alla sfera naturale, e al sorgo, senza dubbio centrale. Centrale, sì, fin troppo: nella prima parte del romanzo, soprattutto, il sorgo viene nominato praticamente in ogni singola pagina, è il termine di paragone di qualsiasi metafora, insomma, tutta questa ricorrenza credo mi abbia un po' disorientato.
Di certo figure come la nonna del protagonista però restano impresse, così maestose, profonde e al tempo stesso umane, così piene di nei.
Le mie impressioni riguardo a questo romanzo sono ancora piuttosto confuse e contrastanti.
Non saprei dire se mi sia effettivamente piaciuto oppure no. So che a tratti mi ha trascinato, soprattutto nell'ultima metà, dove le vicende personali e familiari dei protagonisti iniziano a delinearsi maggiormente, ad assumere un significato più chiaro, ma a tratti mi ha lasciata indifferente, se non nauseata per la crudezza di alcune descrizioni. Crudezza che in un certo senso posso giustificare - come ha detto qualcuno qui, è guerra senza retorica - ma a volte mi è sembrato fosse ricercatata con fin troppa insistenza e morbosità. Certo, la violenza è spesso mitigata dalle descrizioni liriche, legate alla sfera naturale, e al sorgo, senza dubbio centrale. Centrale, sì, fin troppo: nella prima parte del romanzo, soprattutto, il sorgo viene nominato praticamente in ogni singola pagina, è il termine di paragone di qualsiasi metafora, insomma, tutta questa ricorrenza credo mi abbia un po' disorientato.
Di certo figure come la nonna del protagonista però restano impresse, così maestose, profonde e al tempo stesso umane, così piene di nei.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
★☆☆☆☆ - DNF at 28% - I do not recommend this book.
Spanning three generations, this novel of family and myth is told through a series of flashbacks that depict events of staggering horror set against a landscape of gemlike beauty, as the Chinese battle both Japanese invaders and each other in the turbulent 1930s.
I guess the main reason why I am so disappointed is that I was expecting a lot from this book. Honestly, the back cover hyped me so much and I wanted to love [b:Red Sorghum|894154|Red Sorghum|Mo Yan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327945265l/894154._SY75_.jpg|460549]! It sounded like it had everything I love in a book (especially because I am very much into historical stuff).
Also, this book is insanely well-known in China, it won numerous prizes and was adapted as a movie, which contributed to making it kinda famous worldwide.
Anyway, I really tried to love it. But I couldn't ignore the super boring narrative of this book. I have rarely seen so much description and so little action. At first, I thought it was only because the narrator wanted to maybe describe super precisely the setting, to begin with, and then, things will start to happen.
I won't say that nothing happens in the first 28% of that book. Because stuff happens. But it was like 95% description and 5% action. Definitely not for me. I don't think it's a bad book though, I'm sure some people will absolutely love it.
To conclude, is this book very bad? Probably not. Was it made for me? Absolutely not.
I'm sure if you don't mind long descriptions and little action, you will like it. And please, remember that I did not finish this book, so my review only takes into account the first 28% of it. Maybe it is better after, I don't know.
Spanning three generations, this novel of family and myth is told through a series of flashbacks that depict events of staggering horror set against a landscape of gemlike beauty, as the Chinese battle both Japanese invaders and each other in the turbulent 1930s.
I guess the main reason why I am so disappointed is that I was expecting a lot from this book. Honestly, the back cover hyped me so much and I wanted to love [b:Red Sorghum|894154|Red Sorghum|Mo Yan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327945265l/894154._SY75_.jpg|460549]! It sounded like it had everything I love in a book (especially because I am very much into historical stuff).
Also, this book is insanely well-known in China, it won numerous prizes and was adapted as a movie, which contributed to making it kinda famous worldwide.
Anyway, I really tried to love it. But I couldn't ignore the super boring narrative of this book. I have rarely seen so much description and so little action. At first, I thought it was only because the narrator wanted to maybe describe super precisely the setting, to begin with, and then, things will start to happen.
I won't say that nothing happens in the first 28% of that book. Because stuff happens. But it was like 95% description and 5% action. Definitely not for me. I don't think it's a bad book though, I'm sure some people will absolutely love it.
To conclude, is this book very bad? Probably not. Was it made for me? Absolutely not.
I'm sure if you don't mind long descriptions and little action, you will like it. And please, remember that I did not finish this book, so my review only takes into account the first 28% of it. Maybe it is better after, I don't know.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes