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tsharris's review against another edition
4.0
Unsettling novella in which the reality of Xi Jinping's China breaks down as a contemporary official is progressively overwhelmed by memories of the Cultural Revolution. Basically an argument that while contemporary China has tried to shut out traumas of the Mao years with consumerism and bellicose nationalism, there is no escape from a bloody past.
vickie101101's review against another edition
4.0
I grabbed this book at my local library impulsively. I didn't know anything about it before I started reading. I was pleasantly surprised by this short sci-fi Chinese novel. The main character Ma Jian has post cultural revolution "dreams" that are impacting his day-to-day light as a high Government official. These "dreams" reminded me of PTSD flashbacks, due to his traumatic experience during the cultural revolution. Ma Jian tries to push these episodes behind him by creating a microchip that controls the Communist parties dreams. Things take a spicy turn and the story continues with the downfall of Ma Jian.
pearloz's review against another edition
3.0
Our main character is a high ranking official in the Chinese Government (although, by the looks of it there are so many officials and rankings and memberships, it's almost pointless) and we go through a few days of his life and his mind is slowly falling apart. He is visited/troubled with increasing frequency by the ghosts of his past, literal ghosts of family members he's betrayed, friends he's betrayed and killed, party members and lovers who have died because of him. The novel serves as a "coming to Jesus" slow burn realization of the harm he's caused in order to reach the ranks he has, and we get to see a few major moments in his current life: 1) the visit to, and sudden razing of, a neighborhood targeted for new construction; 2) a surprisingly lengthy visit to a brothel for high-ranking officials; 3) the golden anniversary celebration for 100 aging couples in this particular province. The book provides an insight into Chinese culture vis a vi the military and ranking officials and we get a brief tour of pivotal historical moments seen through the mind of a character who feels deep and sincere regret but mistakes that for lunacy.
3.5
3.5
batwoman411's review against another edition
3.0
Depressing but worthy. If nothing else, read the “Afterward” about why the author wrote the novella.
amymo73's review against another edition
4.0
Needing something organized, I decided to look at the books selected this year at the Chautauqua Institute, specifically the Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle. So of course I became a member. Then I picked up this book at the library.
It is rich and deep and I'm sure I miss a TON because I'm not all that smart. But how the main character struggles between forgetting the past for a number of reasons (his own tension with what he's done in the past and the governments' desire to forget the past) and a stubbornness to remember both good and bad, a stubbornness to remember what was real, or at least what felt real to him.
The book led me to learn a bit more about the Cultural Revolution in China and while the mode of government is different, I see many parallels with American society, especially the desire to sugarcoat the past.
I really liked this book.
It is rich and deep and I'm sure I miss a TON because I'm not all that smart. But how the main character struggles between forgetting the past for a number of reasons (his own tension with what he's done in the past and the governments' desire to forget the past) and a stubbornness to remember both good and bad, a stubbornness to remember what was real, or at least what felt real to him.
The book led me to learn a bit more about the Cultural Revolution in China and while the mode of government is different, I see many parallels with American society, especially the desire to sugarcoat the past.
I really liked this book.
booksandnothingcels's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
3.5
daniaustria's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
jenmat1197's review against another edition
2.0
This is the story of Ma Daode. He has been put in charge of a program called China Dream which will overwrite people's private dreams. He is got a great job, a wife, and several mistresses and thinks he has it all.
As the program comes together, Ma suddenly finds himself plagued with flashbacks of his past. He flashes to his time in the Cultural Revolution, his parent's suicide, and the downfall of his family. He seeks out a legendary recipe for an amnesia potion to erase these thoughts, thinking that this will help him refocus on his current work.
This book was very very confusing. I really can't write more about it because it didn't go anywhere. It was all over the place. I understand that it is a bit of a dystopian novel, but also a colleciton of how the author (who has been banned from China for his writings) feels about his country. The ending was terrible. It got more and more twisted as the story went along, and then.....nothing.
Disappointing, really. I had high hopes for it when I read the synopsis, but there weren't any reviews for it yet on Amazon. I should have been wary.
As the program comes together, Ma suddenly finds himself plagued with flashbacks of his past. He flashes to his time in the Cultural Revolution, his parent's suicide, and the downfall of his family. He seeks out a legendary recipe for an amnesia potion to erase these thoughts, thinking that this will help him refocus on his current work.
This book was very very confusing. I really can't write more about it because it didn't go anywhere. It was all over the place. I understand that it is a bit of a dystopian novel, but also a colleciton of how the author (who has been banned from China for his writings) feels about his country. The ending was terrible. It got more and more twisted as the story went along, and then.....nothing.
Disappointing, really. I had high hopes for it when I read the synopsis, but there weren't any reviews for it yet on Amazon. I should have been wary.
elossa's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5