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baruchbarnes's review
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.0
I don't like this translation at all, compare to the translation of Winter Pasture. The base of Li Juan's writing is good but my problems with the translation made this more annoying than it should have been.
smokeyshouse's review
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I appreciate the reflective quality of the writing, but it often felt too uneventful, too slow. Unlike Winter Pasture which narrated a kind of adventure, this book consists of mediations that arose during Li's time growing sunflowers. It did offer a glimpse into an otherwise unknown world, but the pacing was too slow for me to rank it higher.
anmcnulty's review
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars.
This book was beautifully written. I had previously read another of Li Juan's books that had been translated into English, "Winter Pasture", and I found that I liked this one better, and that this translation seemed much smoother and easier to read for me.
The descriptions of the nature, especially, of course, the titular sunflower fields, were very evocative. I felt as if I was really there. This book also made me do my own research on the Xinjiang autonomous region of China where Li Juan is from.
It was also easy to read, because the chapters were quite short, and I found myself flying through it during my lunch break at work everyday.
All in all, a beautiful book that was a privilege to read. I would love to read Li Juan's other works when they are translated into English to learn more about the rural regions of China.
4.5 stars.
This book was beautifully written. I had previously read another of Li Juan's books that had been translated into English, "Winter Pasture", and I found that I liked this one better, and that this translation seemed much smoother and easier to read for me.
The descriptions of the nature, especially, of course, the titular sunflower fields, were very evocative. I felt as if I was really there. This book also made me do my own research on the Xinjiang autonomous region of China where Li Juan is from.
It was also easy to read, because the chapters were quite short, and I found myself flying through it during my lunch break at work everyday.
All in all, a beautiful book that was a privilege to read. I would love to read Li Juan's other works when they are translated into English to learn more about the rural regions of China.
silverliningsandpages's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Li Juan’s memoir chronicles her family’s painstaking efforts to grow a crop of sunflowers in the harsh rolling desert on china’s northwest frontier. At the mercy of unforgiving drought, sandstorms, locusts and crop eating gazelles, they manage to eke out an existence.
The endurance, dignity and strength of Li Juan, her tenacious mother and ageing grandmother are very humbling. As the author describes her spirited dogs’ antics, there is much humour and cheer in her conversational, colloquial narrative. However, underlying, there appears to be a well of self-reproach, restlessness and wistfulness in her writing. It is her lone walks and keen observations of the wild beauty in the surrounding land that seem to restore hope and anchor her to the earth. The descriptions are beautifully evocative, and she candidly expresses her reverence for the power of nature and awareness of how humanity has inhabited and “plundered” the land.
My favourite section is the very insightful afterword, which pulls together the author’s motivations and thoughts on the processes of writing and documenting through pictures the hopes and dreams of a family.
“Writing is akin to thrusting a spade into the ground, and shifting the earth to see what’s there underneath; it’s an adventure of discovery.”
Thank you Sionoist Books for this review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. I’m
really enjoying discovering new (to me) indie publishers and translated literature.
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