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gingerrachelle's review
Needs to go back to the library and I’m in the middle of so many other books. I will come back to this one.
momsterlee's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
theimportanceofbooks's review
4.0
A novel in the format of a set of epic tales and smaller stories centred around a wedding party happening in a neighbourhood in Beijing in 1982.
This novel follows a huge cast of characters who are loosely connected as neighbours, work colleagues, schoolfriend and enemies, telling the life stories of each one, all intermingled with an ancient Chinese tale known as The Bean Juice Tale.
This was beautifully written, simplistic prose with philosophical thoughts based around the concept of time, family, duty, marriage, responsibility and many others.
Personally, I found it a bit hard to keep up with all the characters and I'd get invested in one story and be taken away from it for a long time and taken into stories I found less interesting before being brought back to it.
Overall however, this was a very satisfying novel, well-written, interesting characters with very human and understandable desires and fears and problems, regardless of where they are living, what culture they are part of or what time period they are living in. This story reminded me that at the end of the day, human nature can relate to human nature anywhere on earth and we are all united in this particular human struggle.
It did however do a very good job at educating me on Chinese history through a very human and accessible format, especially the Cultural Revolution and famines and Sino-Japanese wars, and time period between the 1950s and 1970s, and the very unique struggles of the people living in China at this time and what they had to go through during the political upheaval. It talks about the specific cultural issues regarding familial duties, marriage and the difficulties for women in this period and the expectations put on them in this era too.
This novel follows a huge cast of characters who are loosely connected as neighbours, work colleagues, schoolfriend and enemies, telling the life stories of each one, all intermingled with an ancient Chinese tale known as The Bean Juice Tale.
This was beautifully written, simplistic prose with philosophical thoughts based around the concept of time, family, duty, marriage, responsibility and many others.
Personally, I found it a bit hard to keep up with all the characters and I'd get invested in one story and be taken away from it for a long time and taken into stories I found less interesting before being brought back to it.
Overall however, this was a very satisfying novel, well-written, interesting characters with very human and understandable desires and fears and problems, regardless of where they are living, what culture they are part of or what time period they are living in. This story reminded me that at the end of the day, human nature can relate to human nature anywhere on earth and we are all united in this particular human struggle.
It did however do a very good job at educating me on Chinese history through a very human and accessible format, especially the Cultural Revolution and famines and Sino-Japanese wars, and time period between the 1950s and 1970s, and the very unique struggles of the people living in China at this time and what they had to go through during the political upheaval. It talks about the specific cultural issues regarding familial duties, marriage and the difficulties for women in this period and the expectations put on them in this era too.
jcampbell's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Despite presenting a story focused on the day of a wedding. The wedding takes a back seat to the lives and stories of the sprawling cast of characters who help to tell different elements of Chinese history.
I am not familiar with contemporary China but whole story was incredibly interesting and informative. Despite being hard to follow. The novel is a well constructed selection of character studies that help to tell a history of contemporary Beijing.
I am not familiar with contemporary China but whole story was incredibly interesting and informative. Despite being hard to follow. The novel is a well constructed selection of character studies that help to tell a history of contemporary Beijing.
kina_tan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Honestly, all of the characters need theraphy.
This book tells the different stories of the people living in a siheyuan. Although they are supposed to represent the chinese society post cultural revolution, I found that they actually still resonate with our current society across cultures and serves as a reminder that human just never change. The characters aren't lovable but their backstories shed lights on why and how they turned out the way they are. I love how detailed the author is in crafting each characters that they all feel very much alive & real. I feel for them, I cry with them, I curse with them, I curse at them. I even have to take a long breal after the halfway mark because the emotions it elicited from me is way too intense. Overall, a good read if you love chinese history or if you're interested in anthropology
This book tells the different stories of the people living in a siheyuan. Although they are supposed to represent the chinese society post cultural revolution, I found that they actually still resonate with our current society across cultures and serves as a reminder that human just never change. The characters aren't lovable but their backstories shed lights on why and how they turned out the way they are. I love how detailed the author is in crafting each characters that they all feel very much alive & real. I feel for them, I cry with them, I curse with them, I curse at them. I even have to take a long breal after the halfway mark because the emotions it elicited from me is way too intense. Overall, a good read if you love chinese history or if you're interested in anthropology
sittingwishingreading's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
theslowreaderr's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
kaschaller's review against another edition
informative
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Wedding Part begins early one morning in the courtyard of a Beijing siheyuan - a quadrangle of houses - where Auntie Xue is preparing for her son’s wedding. She is desperate for it to go smoothly. Anyone who has been involved in a wedding won’t be surprised to learn that it doesn’t. From there the story unspools into something resembling a sprawling epic - a large cast of characters who all have intriguing individual backstories and personal dramas of their own. This is not a book that hews tightly to a central plot line. In many ways the wedding is just a device on which to hang the meat of the novel - the many character studies and short stories of those somehow connected to the wedding. All up this book offers fascinating glimpses into Chinese society, both historically and in the early 1980s when the story is set. History, politics, economics, mythology, cultural practices, social norms, class differences and much more are all examined. With such a large cast of characters there is also lots of interpersonal drama, sometimes humorous and sometimes sad, which kept the interest level high. Previously, virtually all the Chinese novels I’d read were historical, with most being set prior to 1950. So reading a more contemporary story (it was written around the time it is set) was a nice change of pace for me, and highlighted the many changes in Chinese society since the Communist Revolution. I loved the way the book was organised chronologically but that each chapter focussed on one character and their story. The clever chapter subtitles always piqued my curiosity and raised a smile. Two other aspects of the book stood out to me. One was the mouthwatering descriptions of food - you’ll want your best Chinese restaurant on speed dial. The second was the philosophical talk of change and the nature of time, especially in the epilogue, which put me very much in mind of Proust, whose epic I’m slowly working my way through. All in all this was a richly immersive tapestry which will reward patient reader.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse