Scan barcode
A review by necksbetrim
1988: I Want to Talk with the World by Han Han, 韩寒
2.0
Latest novel by China's enfant terrible and social critique, Han Han. Although I've read many of his satirical essays, this is the first book that I've read by him. The main character is a sarcastic loner who spends the first half of the book entangled with a fast-talking pregnant prostitute who describes the vicissitudes of her trade with candor that oscillates between amusing and stomach-turning. The main character in turn treats the reader to a somewhat out-of-place seeming account of his childhood in the suburbs of a nameless big city (my guess would be Shanghai, Han's hometown). I want to like this book, but I'm having a hard time feeling much of anything for the either of these characters.
--16/8/11 Update ---
Finally finished this book. Can't say it was really a page turner,which is a shame considering I really wanted to like this book after having enjoyed so many of Han's short non-fiction essays. There is quality in this, but it's spotty and haphazard. My final impression was of a poorly planned novel written in short spurts of inspiration that mistakes unlikely coincidences, melodrama and crude humor for clever narrative twists, emotional depth and witty social commentary. The characters feel paper thin and Han drops the 'road trip' plot several times only to end the story with an incredibly lame and anti-climatic twist ending.
--16/8/11 Update ---
Finally finished this book. Can't say it was really a page turner,which is a shame considering I really wanted to like this book after having enjoyed so many of Han's short non-fiction essays. There is quality in this, but it's spotty and haphazard. My final impression was of a poorly planned novel written in short spurts of inspiration that mistakes unlikely coincidences, melodrama and crude humor for clever narrative twists, emotional depth and witty social commentary. The characters feel paper thin and Han drops the 'road trip' plot several times only to end the story with an incredibly lame and anti-climatic twist ending.