Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Not my favorite collection of stories. A few standouts, but I can't remember much about them now. The pacing was too sporadic and it felt like the stories didn't "build" off of each other.
A collection of short stories all related to the lives of ordinary people in modern China.
I really enjoyed this collection which covers many aspects of life in modern China and is not only set in the big cities. I found it to be a particularly interesting look at China’s societal changes and how ordinary people are grappling with them, but there’s also a lot of reflection on the party system, identity and culture clashes (both within and outside China). Chen manages to distill the essence of a vast country which is not as uniform as it likes to present itself into stories of individuals, which is no mean feat (I should probably clarify that I am referring to socio-economic differences and generational and city-rural divides, not to ethnic minorities, which are not the focus of this collection). The two stories that I most enjoyed reading were Beautiful Country, which explores identity and the feeling of being stuck between two different cultures, not feeling like you fully belong to either, and New Fruit, a fantastical story of hope and longing, and ultimately the ephemeral nature of life and joy. That said, the story that has unexpectedly stuck with me was Gubeiko Spirit, about a group of commuters that get stuck in an underground metro station, which was distinctly unsettling and yet felt perfectly plausible - I wasn’t blown away by the story whilst actually reading it, but I keep thinking about it and all the repercussions of the situation. An observant collection of short stories, exploring societal changes, identity and cultural differences, all imbued with the essence of a China in flux.
Land of Big Numbers, by Te-Ping Chen, is a collection of short stories blending moments of everyday Chinese life with magical elements or extreme elements, constantly reflecting on what we owe to each other, in families or communities, with wild personal joys and heavy personal secrets. And all the stories created vivid scenes in just a couple paragraphs.
New Fruit stays with me, my favorite by far in this collection. The qiguo, peculiar fruit, is a new fruit variety suddenly sold by street vendors and the kind of Chinese bodegas that might sell random lots of random surplus. The first summer, the taste of the qiguo brings to life old memories. "“Today I had one that tasted like I had just told a good joke and everyone was laughing,” Lao Sui might say."
This is the mix of realism and fantastical that really works. The constant presence of fruit vendors on the streets makes it so easy to buy fruit for snacks, and I was constantly seeing new fruits sold in wheelbarrows. Sometimes just smaller and sweeter versions of grocery store fruit, but sometimes mangosteens, durian and other new fruit.
Full review is on my book blog
New Fruit stays with me, my favorite by far in this collection. The qiguo, peculiar fruit, is a new fruit variety suddenly sold by street vendors and the kind of Chinese bodegas that might sell random lots of random surplus. The first summer, the taste of the qiguo brings to life old memories. "“Today I had one that tasted like I had just told a good joke and everyone was laughing,” Lao Sui might say."
This is the mix of realism and fantastical that really works. The constant presence of fruit vendors on the streets makes it so easy to buy fruit for snacks, and I was constantly seeing new fruits sold in wheelbarrows. Sometimes just smaller and sweeter versions of grocery store fruit, but sometimes mangosteens, durian and other new fruit.
Full review is on my book blog
Wow! I’m blown away by this collection. Chen’s writing is top-notch, and all of the stories were so unique and impactful, each one providing a tiny sliver into Chinese culture. Would highly recommend!
Thought this was non-fiction honestly going in, so the magical realism took me by surprise. Still a wonderful collection of short stories but not what I expected going in. Everything that you want in a short story collection, friendly, likeable characters, characters that you hate and characters that frustrate you to no end. Hotline Girl, New Fruit, Flying Machine, Land of Big Numbers and Gubeikou Spirit were my favorites, maybe Gubeikou Spirit the best in the book.
I really enjoyed this collection. I hope Chen would consider writing a full length novel some day
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Usually in short story collections there are ones I love, and ones I don't care for, but I loved every one of these.
Bumped this one up from 4.5 to 5 because I can't get that last story out of my head, I keep thinking about it all the time.
Bumped this one up from 4.5 to 5 because I can't get that last story out of my head, I keep thinking about it all the time.
Notable Quote: “He’d seen the village transform itself over a lifetime, just as he, too, was going to transform himself with an invention the likes of which his neighbors had never seen.” Te-Ping Chen, Land of Big Numbers
This collection, Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen was fantastic. It tells several unrelated stories of several Chinese people, and/or in a few cases is set in China. The styles and themes as widely as one might expect from such an expansive topic and I’d imagine most people would find at least a few of these stories entertaining. My two favorites were “New Fruit” and “Gubeiko Spirit”. I’m a big fan of anything with magical realism and I was pleasantly surprised by the stories that integrated a dash of the unreal. As a bonus: I learned a lot about contemporary Chinese culture (I’m embarrassed to know so little).
Recommended for: Any adult or older teenager, this collection is very readable and thought provoking. Could make a great choice for a book club.
This collection, Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen was fantastic. It tells several unrelated stories of several Chinese people, and/or in a few cases is set in China. The styles and themes as widely as one might expect from such an expansive topic and I’d imagine most people would find at least a few of these stories entertaining. My two favorites were “New Fruit” and “Gubeiko Spirit”. I’m a big fan of anything with magical realism and I was pleasantly surprised by the stories that integrated a dash of the unreal. As a bonus: I learned a lot about contemporary Chinese culture (I’m embarrassed to know so little).
Recommended for: Any adult or older teenager, this collection is very readable and thought provoking. Could make a great choice for a book club.