Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Book Review "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress"

Balzac and the Little Chinese SeamstressBalzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a wonderful book for all of us who love books. How can you not fall in love with the little seamstress? I also experienced a totalitarian regime that censored "subversive" writing. I remember friends being sent into the mountains of Cuba to teach the peasants to read. Great idea, no one in our country had ever done that, it could have changed the lives of the peasants if only once they could read and write they had the freedom of choice of what to read. But alas, the great Cuban revolution went the other way, the way of tyranny and persecution. And it continues to this day. Perhaps someday this wonderful book can be read in a free Cuba. Anyhow it hit a nerve with me and the story, although simple and short, made me laugh and at the end,  I also felt I lost the little seamstress. This is what a book should do; get you involved in the story and make the characters your friends, if for a brief time. Great read. Made me want to get back to my Balzac!



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