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Liked It “Easy to see why this book was banned in China. It's not like the powers that be want to publicize all the dirt now do they? |
Didn’t Like It “When I read the blurb I was amazed and couldn't wait to get the book home and start reading. The descripion promised an incredibly angsty story, written in a very artistic, yet brutally honest way. All I could say was "wow". |
Newest Reviews
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“Easy to see why this book was banned in China. It's not like the powers that be want to publicize all the dirt now do they?
Mark V wrote this review Friday, October 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
First time I have ever read that stuff like marijuana was present in China! Wow China is just like any other country? Why is that so hard for their leaders to admit?
She has some beautiful lines in this book. I won't quote them here. Just read the book. You might feel a little perturbed with her repetitive self-indulgence but try to understand...She is young and courageous to write this. Even more courageous are her parents. I'm happy for her that in her real life she is married with a child. I am happy she is still alive and a survivor from those tumultuous years.
Okay candyland girl, let's be friends. Got a Facebook account? haha. ”“When I read the blurb I was amazed and couldn't wait to get the book home and start reading. The descripion promised an incredibly angsty story, written in a very artistic, yet brutally honest way. All I could say was "wow".
Tasharene wrote this review Monday, June 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The story begins in Shanghai, when a classmate's suicide prompts narrator Hong to drop out of high school. Fearing she'll never get a job without an education, Hong heads south to the Special Economic Zone, where the government has lifted restrictions so business can flourish. Among the most successful enterprises are nightclubs, gambling, drugs and prostitution. Hong falls in love with a musician and quickly succumbs to an endless nightlife of sex and drugs and all the problems that tend to accompany such fun.
Yes, the story had a potential, but the author, pompously referred to as "the only hope of Chinese literature" wasted it totally. The writing style is chaotic to the point of making reading a strenuous chore. Mian Mian attempts to present the angst in a lofty, poetic way, but all she manages to achieve is a parody of herself in many, many places. I guess I can safely compare her style to an emo kid's MySpace blogging. Simplistic, repetitive, boring, unable to hold the reader's interest for longer than 5 minutes. So much for artistic merit and I refuse to believe that this is the effect she wanted to achieve. Even if - as some critics claim - she aimed for pastiche here, she failed shamefully.
Generally speaking, the book is nothing more than 300 pages of constant whining, which is so annoying that at some point I had to put the book away and rest or I would tear it to pieces. The characters are totally unlikable, the author failed to portray their internal struggle, or any kind of emotional development. I kept reading on till the end in hope that something would finally happen there, some climactic event that would make it all worth the time, but... nothing happened.
One big disappointment.”
“Probably the best of the "glamour girl" genre of contemporary Chinese literature.”
Matthew W wrote this review Friday, June 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is the English translation of this book.
Christina A wrote this review Wednesday, March 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
EXCELLENT. Wasn't a quick read for me, but it definitely kept me on my toes.
Crazy story.”“I've tried to finish this book so many times and I always get stuck in the middle somewhere. The first part of the book is beautifully written. I've highlighted dozens of sentences in the first hundred or so pages because the language is truly gorgeous. But, halfway in and the story derails completely, it turns into a biography of some prostitute, the lovely flow of words is gone, and that's when I lose interest. Oh well. Maybe I'll finish it one day.”
L T wrote this review Monday, May 19 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“crazy.”
olaszka p wrote this review Friday, March 21 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Mian Mian's Candy is a tale of the P.R.C.’s lost generation; those disaffected youth who grew up on the cusp of old and new China. One of those rare novels which speaks in poetically blunt truth, Candy was summarily banned by the Communist government as “spiritual pollution.” Candy is a highly recommended read for anyone longing for an extremely well-written glimpse into Chinese counterculture.”
~China Photojournalist Tom Carter~ wrote this review Thursday, June 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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