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A review by kikiandarrowsfishshelf
Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong
2.0
Maybe it's because I'm an ugly American, but I didn't like this book. I'm giving it two star because of the wonderful writing in the beginning and in other places, so it's more two stars for style.
I knew about this legend before I picked up this book, so I wasn't coming into the story as a total know nothing. I also haven't read anything by Tong before, and, in all fairness, I should point out that I haven't read much in the way of Chinese literature. In truth, part of the problem I had with this book could be due to translation issues.
The first 80 pages of the book are pretty good. Tong does a good job setting up the whole myth. It's true Binu feels more like a type than a person, but sometimes that works in book. I liked the frog.
BUT (and this is a little bit of a spoiler)
Things go wonky. There really is no other word for it. There is this huge (okay, not huge, but it felt huge) section where Binu faints and then gets sexually molested. While I can understand this would undoubtably occur because of (a) the male dominated culture (b) she's traveling alone, Tong's description lingered way too long on some aspects of it, almost as if he thought the reader would get some type of "happy" out of it. Now, this could be a translation issue; I haven't read enough by Tong to know. It, however, put the reader in an uncomfortable position of voygeur. It was strange. The reader wasn't put in the view of the victim, but, almost, in the view of the molestor. It also didn't help that some of those molestors were young boys.
I almost put the book down, but I prefer to force myself to read things that make me a little uncomfortable.
Sadly, the book never seemed to get quite back on track to the end. Binu starts on a journay, yet the trip is described in jumps. Some things just seemed put into the story for no good reason. It also feels like Tong takes a story for women and drags it kicking and screaming into a story for men. (I know, it sounds sexist, but that's what it feels like).
I knew about this legend before I picked up this book, so I wasn't coming into the story as a total know nothing. I also haven't read anything by Tong before, and, in all fairness, I should point out that I haven't read much in the way of Chinese literature. In truth, part of the problem I had with this book could be due to translation issues.
The first 80 pages of the book are pretty good. Tong does a good job setting up the whole myth. It's true Binu feels more like a type than a person, but sometimes that works in book. I liked the frog.
BUT (and this is a little bit of a spoiler)
Things go wonky. There really is no other word for it. There is this huge (okay, not huge, but it felt huge) section where Binu faints and then gets sexually molested. While I can understand this would undoubtably occur because of (a) the male dominated culture (b) she's traveling alone, Tong's description lingered way too long on some aspects of it, almost as if he thought the reader would get some type of "happy" out of it. Now, this could be a translation issue; I haven't read enough by Tong to know. It, however, put the reader in an uncomfortable position of voygeur. It was strange. The reader wasn't put in the view of the victim, but, almost, in the view of the molestor. It also didn't help that some of those molestors were young boys.
I almost put the book down, but I prefer to force myself to read things that make me a little uncomfortable.
Sadly, the book never seemed to get quite back on track to the end. Binu starts on a journay, yet the trip is described in jumps. Some things just seemed put into the story for no good reason. It also feels like Tong takes a story for women and drags it kicking and screaming into a story for men. (I know, it sounds sexist, but that's what it feels like).