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A review by eggmama
The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke
1.0
"The odd thing was that no one was speaking about the present. No one wanted the present. This was a war over the past and the future...There was no present. The present had disappeared."
The major thematic conflict of this novel lies between modern life and technology, and the past and traditions. It also speaks to the feelings, desires, and courage that we have while dreaming, but often lack in the waking world.
I feel bad giving this book a one star for a few reasons. First, this book is a translation, and translations, no matter how beautiful or true to the core of the story, are bound to differ from the original text. Something is inevitably lost.
Second, the writing style, while not my favorite, works well with the dreamwalking plot. Sentences are repeated two, three times, with subtle variations that provide emphasis and make more apparent the thin line between dreams and reality, this sentence and the previous one. Lianke's decision to use himself as a character in the novel is also a nice touch.
Third, this is apparently satire, but I didn't quite get it. I can attribute this "falling flat" because of my lack of knowledge about China and its culture and politics.
This book addresses heavy-hitting topics, but I feel like it could have been done more artfully. For me, it just dragged on, and I only found myself excitedly reading the last 40 or so pages.
The major thematic conflict of this novel lies between modern life and technology, and the past and traditions. It also speaks to the feelings, desires, and courage that we have while dreaming, but often lack in the waking world.
I feel bad giving this book a one star for a few reasons. First, this book is a translation, and translations, no matter how beautiful or true to the core of the story, are bound to differ from the original text. Something is inevitably lost.
Second, the writing style, while not my favorite, works well with the dreamwalking plot. Sentences are repeated two, three times, with subtle variations that provide emphasis and make more apparent the thin line between dreams and reality, this sentence and the previous one. Lianke's decision to use himself as a character in the novel is also a nice touch.
Third, this is apparently satire, but I didn't quite get it. I can attribute this "falling flat" because of my lack of knowledge about China and its culture and politics.
This book addresses heavy-hitting topics, but I feel like it could have been done more artfully. For me, it just dragged on, and I only found myself excitedly reading the last 40 or so pages.