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hannanx's review against another edition
4.25
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!
I found this book really interesting, although there were certain things that I didn't quite understand.
I enjoyed the satirical way that the author wrote about religious leaders and religious institutions. I can imagine that this must be difficult to do whilst maintaining respect for the faiths themselves, yet I do think the author achieved this.
Using sattire, I think this book really shone a light on the hypocrisy of men and corruption within religious institutions. From the Pastor claiming that money could solve everything that God cannot, to religious leaders tricking each other whilst playing a game of tug of war and their beliefs being affirmed or questioned depending on whether they are winning the game (I.e. "Allah why do you not help your children" and "Protestants beat Catholics which helped transform the Protestants belief in faith"), to the leader of the religious institution only working there because it's close to his home. Donations to the institution were used as prizes for the tug of war contest, and people were forced to attend if they wanted to pass their studies as it was said to unify and integrate different faiths when in fact it did the opposite. I think there was one reference where it said that the tug of war contest could have easily escalated into a "full blown religious war" and to me, I think this was symbolic of the pointlessness of war and the hypocrisy of men who claim to be holy but act in these ways.
In the extreme, towards the end the book delved deeper into Nameless who had been introduced to us earlier, and his corruption and greed. Not only did want to become a Deity to rule all other Deities and seemed like he almost believed he was more than a God, but he also took advantage of our protagonist when she passed out. The book does have some dark parts, but I do think this serves a purpose, to illustrate two sides of the same coin and act to contract him against a character who is also corrupt but not to the same level, for instance such as Dr Gong (who also made a move on her but not in such an extreme way - opposite sides of the same coin).
I enjoyed reading and trying to unpick the authors commentary on the interaction of different faiths too. There were lots of quotes I found interesting, including: "the same way someone might claim that Buddhism or Daoism is the only true religion, when in fact Daoists don't know anything about Buddhism just as Buddhists don't know anything about Daoism". Parts of the books were also a love story of two people from different faiths, and I enjoyed reading about how their faiths played a part in their relationship and this interaction.
In addition, I also greatly enjoyed the book's commentary on the dichotomy of being a woman whilst simultaneously being a religious disciple, and how things such as food and sexual desires etc. were explored. Our protagonist not only dreams about returning to secular life multiple times, but, although she is a devout Buddhist and Jade Nun, she seems to think nothing of switching religions and converting to another in a second (for instance, she made a reference to marrying a protestant man and converting to his religion). Quotes I found interesting along this theme include "everyone needs to consider issues of promotion title and treatment, and if they didn't care about these things, they would be deities and not humans", and even at the end: "it was as though the deities suddenly remembered that Yahui was only eighteen and a mortal girl who lacked the deity's enlightenment, wisdom and understanding, and realised that this accounted for her reckless decision to remain human and reject deification". I also found it interesting when her faith was questioned: "After all, don't you believers rely on stories for your Gods? To tell the truth, religious faith is just a matter of believing stories. The world is governed by stories and it is for the sake of stories that everyone lives on this earth." I think this shows humans as we are: deeply flawed, and I found the contrast between this and also being a devoutly religious disciple so interesting.
My interpretation was that the book also showed someone who didn't seem human and flawed - Yahui's first shifu, and she actually fainted at the thought of these tug of war competitions, and died in the hospital due to the idea of Yahui and Mingzheng being together. I think this shows that maybe one cannot exist in the mortal world without being flawed themselves (although this was just my interpretation).
This book was deep and thought provoking. I found unpacking the author's commentary really quite fascinating, and even the questions asked in the religious exams were interesting!
However, there were things I didn't quite understand. I think if I understood the historical background of different religions in China and it's relationships with deities I would understand the background and context that this book was set in a lot more. For instance, I don't know whether it was common to see deities and claim as such, or whether this was just the authors fancy and something she added into this story. When everyone was sitting exams it mentioned that the students secular names were different from their religious names, and again I wasn't sure if this was symbolic of the dichotomy of humans or whether this is a common and normal occurence in China.
There were other things I didn't quite understand too, like why everyone was jumping to loan our protagonist money when she wanted to buy an apartment, or what the deal with Mingzheng's surgery was all about (I can draw parralells between both his and the protagonists private parts after she feels unclean and starts to harm herself, but apart from that I didn't quite understand that part of the story). I also didn't really understand why Yahui would like Mingzheng in the first place, and why Mingzheng wanted to marry Yahui so early on when he barely knew her (the fact that she's pretty doesn't seem like enough to me).
I also wasn't sure if I was a big fan of the writing style. I think I prefer more descriptive writing styles generally.
However, the ideas in the book make me think (and a lot). Overall I really enjoyed this book and believe I will probably be thinking about the ideas in this for a long time.
I found this book really interesting, although there were certain things that I didn't quite understand.
I enjoyed the satirical way that the author wrote about religious leaders and religious institutions. I can imagine that this must be difficult to do whilst maintaining respect for the faiths themselves, yet I do think the author achieved this.
Using sattire, I think this book really shone a light on the hypocrisy of men and corruption within religious institutions. From the Pastor claiming that money could solve everything that God cannot, to religious leaders tricking each other whilst playing a game of tug of war and their beliefs being affirmed or questioned depending on whether they are winning the game (I.e. "Allah why do you not help your children" and "Protestants beat Catholics which helped transform the Protestants belief in faith"), to the leader of the religious institution only working there because it's close to his home. Donations to the institution were used as prizes for the tug of war contest, and people were forced to attend if they wanted to pass their studies as it was said to unify and integrate different faiths when in fact it did the opposite. I think there was one reference where it said that the tug of war contest could have easily escalated into a "full blown religious war" and to me, I think this was symbolic of the pointlessness of war and the hypocrisy of men who claim to be holy but act in these ways.
In the extreme, towards the end the book delved deeper into Nameless who had been introduced to us earlier, and his corruption and greed. Not only did want to become a Deity to rule all other Deities and seemed like he almost believed he was more than a God, but he also took advantage of our protagonist when she passed out. The book does have some dark parts, but I do think this serves a purpose, to illustrate two sides of the same coin and act to contract him against a character who is also corrupt but not to the same level, for instance such as Dr Gong (who also made a move on her but not in such an extreme way - opposite sides of the same coin).
I enjoyed reading and trying to unpick the authors commentary on the interaction of different faiths too. There were lots of quotes I found interesting, including: "the same way someone might claim that Buddhism or Daoism is the only true religion, when in fact Daoists don't know anything about Buddhism just as Buddhists don't know anything about Daoism". Parts of the books were also a love story of two people from different faiths, and I enjoyed reading about how their faiths played a part in their relationship and this interaction.
In addition, I also greatly enjoyed the book's commentary on the dichotomy of being a woman whilst simultaneously being a religious disciple, and how things such as food and sexual desires etc. were explored. Our protagonist not only dreams about returning to secular life multiple times, but, although she is a devout Buddhist and Jade Nun, she seems to think nothing of switching religions and converting to another in a second (for instance, she made a reference to marrying a protestant man and converting to his religion). Quotes I found interesting along this theme include "everyone needs to consider issues of promotion title and treatment, and if they didn't care about these things, they would be deities and not humans", and even at the end: "it was as though the deities suddenly remembered that Yahui was only eighteen and a mortal girl who lacked the deity's enlightenment, wisdom and understanding, and realised that this accounted for her reckless decision to remain human and reject deification". I also found it interesting when her faith was questioned: "After all, don't you believers rely on stories for your Gods? To tell the truth, religious faith is just a matter of believing stories. The world is governed by stories and it is for the sake of stories that everyone lives on this earth." I think this shows humans as we are: deeply flawed, and I found the contrast between this and also being a devoutly religious disciple so interesting.
My interpretation was that the book also showed someone who didn't seem human and flawed - Yahui's first shifu, and she actually fainted at the thought of these tug of war competitions, and died in the hospital due to the idea of Yahui and Mingzheng being together. I think this shows that maybe one cannot exist in the mortal world without being flawed themselves (although this was just my interpretation).
This book was deep and thought provoking. I found unpacking the author's commentary really quite fascinating, and even the questions asked in the religious exams were interesting!
However, there were things I didn't quite understand. I think if I understood the historical background of different religions in China and it's relationships with deities I would understand the background and context that this book was set in a lot more. For instance, I don't know whether it was common to see deities and claim as such, or whether this was just the authors fancy and something she added into this story. When everyone was sitting exams it mentioned that the students secular names were different from their religious names, and again I wasn't sure if this was symbolic of the dichotomy of humans or whether this is a common and normal occurence in China.
There were other things I didn't quite understand too, like why everyone was jumping to loan our protagonist money when she wanted to buy an apartment, or what the deal with Mingzheng's surgery was all about (I can draw parralells between both his and the protagonists private parts after she feels unclean and starts to harm herself, but apart from that I didn't quite understand that part of the story). I also didn't really understand why Yahui would like Mingzheng in the first place, and why Mingzheng wanted to marry Yahui so early on when he barely knew her (the fact that she's pretty doesn't seem like enough to me).
I also wasn't sure if I was a big fan of the writing style. I think I prefer more descriptive writing styles generally.
However, the ideas in the book make me think (and a lot). Overall I really enjoyed this book and believe I will probably be thinking about the ideas in this for a long time.
criver's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
saturday_reads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
danielthesecond's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
abookishtype's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Yahui was found on the doorstep of a rural Buddhist convent and has known nothing else for most of her eighteen years of life. Her lack of worldliness makes her a perfect vehicle for Yan Lianke’s satirical Heart Sutra, which explores the way that five of China’s religions—Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism—have had to contort themselves to survive the country’s political order and corruption. The uneasy relationship between the religions and Chinese communism leaves Yahui struggling to decide if the deities are real, if the secular world is a better fit, and which set of rules she should follow to be a good person...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
sophmcgraw's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
3.5
rad_onc_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This was not a light read, but I enjoyed it a lot. It's a great work of contemporary Chinese literature that examines the relationship between religion and secular life, as well as the give and take between the sanctioned religions of China and the State. I loved the descriptions of Beijing and the role this city played in the book as well. I had to push through in some parts, but the unique ending was very memorable. And the papercuts!!! That alone made me glad I picked it up.
katiereads45's review
challenging
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? Yes
2.5
textpublishing's review against another edition
The following book reviews have been shared by Text Publishing – publisher of Heart Sutra
‘Picaresque, but with serious matters of faith, love, and political wrangling at its fast-beating heart.’
Kirkus Reviews
‘Intriguing satire…[Yan Lianke’s] barbs against organised religion frequently hit their targets…[T]here is plenty to admire.’
Booklist
‘Heart Sutra is a warm-hearted, if not gentle, satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith itself...by its end, it has moved through absurdity, darkness, and body horror into a strange and flickering form of hope...a deeply satisfying read...Yan's storytelling has a luminous, irrepressible quality...in its darkness, it shines.’
NPR
‘Extremely intriguing…Glimpses of early Salman Rushdie.’
RNZ Nine to Noon
‘In the realm of Olga Tokarczuk…There are a lot of things that I really love about this book.’
95bFM Loose Reads
‘Picaresque, but with serious matters of faith, love, and political wrangling at its fast-beating heart.’
Kirkus Reviews
‘Intriguing satire…[Yan Lianke’s] barbs against organised religion frequently hit their targets…[T]here is plenty to admire.’
Booklist
‘Heart Sutra is a warm-hearted, if not gentle, satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith itself...by its end, it has moved through absurdity, darkness, and body horror into a strange and flickering form of hope...a deeply satisfying read...Yan's storytelling has a luminous, irrepressible quality...in its darkness, it shines.’
NPR
‘Extremely intriguing…Glimpses of early Salman Rushdie.’
RNZ Nine to Noon
‘In the realm of Olga Tokarczuk…There are a lot of things that I really love about this book.’
95bFM Loose Reads