Our library's Art Lovers Book Club gave this an overall rating of 7 out of 10.
It had an ending that you either loved or hated!

SPL Summer Book Bingo: translated from another language

An interesting look into China's Cultural Revolution through the eyes of a man who lived it. Very nice writing, indented with subtle symbolism.

Reviewed: 6 Aug 2005

Two boys, both sons of doctors, are exiled to a remote Chinese village for re-education during the Cultural Revolution. Their salvation is a violin, a Balzac novel, and the beautiful daughter of a peasant tailor. Full of surprising twists, turns, and original characters, this magical novel would be a good choice for book groups.

great book for a look at China during the cultural revolution and life in the countryside, especially young people's lives.

'Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress' is a story of two young men sent from city to the Chinese countryside for 're-education' by Red Guards during Mao's infamous Cultural Revolution as their intellectual activities and foreign influences are perceived to be a threat to the communist regime. In their exile, they perform menial work and live in squalor however life is not too hard on them as they find repose in the stunningly beautiful surroundings of the Phoenix Mountain and take delight in teaching French literature to a local lass simply known as the little seamstress while trying to win her favours. The magic of books delivers a sense of freedom to the little seamstress as well as her grandfather in ways they had never thought possible.

This book was delightful

Interesting tale of two teenage boys during the cultural revolution in China when they are sent out of the city into the mountains to learn how the peasants live.

Six words: I will never read that again.

This certainly is a "likable" little tale. It seems to stutter quite a bit, trying to decide what exactly it's trying to say. It might be a complaint against authoritarian regimes, but it can't decide whether the characters are free to do whatever they want whenever they want or whether they are hard done by prisoners of a totalitarian dictator. It might be a touching story of first love or a train wreck of misjudged affection and misplaced trust. It might be about sophistication triumphing over ignorance or art over provincialism, but it just as easily could be trying to say that fancy underwear and a better accent can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Mercifully, it was short.

What made it less than memorable for me was the sparseness of the prose. Not mincing words can add incredible power to significant plot lines. I usually appreciate that a great deal. Not giving the reader enough information to fall in love with the characters, however, is a recipe for the reader not being engaged in the story. I had a hard time staying awake.