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Book am very quickly reading in metro, car, bed. Makes eyes to cry
“Why do some "reviewers" feel the need to fill three paragraphs with re-recaps of the story line?
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-08-11.
I had the good fortune to find the English version of this book in my local library in Paris France; being a foreigner here, who gets by with my broken French, I felt I would find a connection in this book, and I did.
I thought I had trouble with making cultural adjustments from the States to France; at least we share the same alphabet and have the same types of grammar rules.
Considering the broken English used throughout, it got to be very easy to read after a short while, and I zipped through it in a few days during my commute. We are immediately thrown into Z's world, and by introducing each chapter in the form of a word she's learned, and its dictionary meaning, we are given a preview of things to come.
Spoiler alert below!!!
this book is a tearjerker ” -
Easterner Finds One-Sided Love in the West
“ I really enjoyed this book. I thought the narrator's voice was very interesting. I am a firm believer that language is an expression of culture and it was very interesting to take this young woman's journey of the West through an Easterner's eyes. She was at times hilarious, profoundly wise, and utterly foolish...but aren't we all?
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-07-17.
As a westerner who has travelled to the East, it's funny how the mind is processing all of the nuances of culture. I read reviews where other readers didn't particularly enjoy the narrator's broken English. I felt the broken English was such a profound, moving, and real way that many who are thinking and living in a different culture feel. This really was a wonderful book.” -
0 of 1 members found this review helpful.
A great Read!
“I loved the book and the progression of the language in the book. Very good.”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-01-10. -
Good things come in small packages
“This was indeed a very thought provoking book. The style was very convincing and also unusual. Ultimately it was a sad book, perhaps An Innocents Abroad for the 21st Century'”
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-09-18. -
1 of 1 members found this review helpful.
Fascinating 5-star read
“Xiaolu Guo is a native of China and has published several books there. This is her first novel written in English and was published hardcover in 2007, now paperback. She now divides her time between Beijing and London.
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-07-23.
Like the author, the novel's main character, Zhuang Xiao Qiao, is a young Chinese woman who spends a year in London to study English. The story is told as a series of journal/diary entries that are in part written to her British lover, a man she meets in a movie theater. In a rather unusual way, she moves in with him after misunderstanding the phrase, "be my guest." She refers to "you" as this man.
At the beginning of the book, the writing is stilted, incorrect and confusing- just exactly the way a non-native speaker would likely think and write in her new language. She keeps a dictionary at hand all of the time and constantly looks up new words and definitions. She also as an insatiable curiosity and asks many questions. As the book progresses so does the sentence structure and Zhuang's understanding of English and Western culture.
Guo's re-creation of language learning is fascinating. The character of Zhuang is both naïve and wise. She shares her most personal thoughts and actions and readily explores the difficulties inherent in living in a new country with a new language. Zhuang also takes some time to travel by Euro-pass railroad through France, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Her impressions of these countries and the people she meets also offer a different perspective on Chinese culture.
However, this is not a book for every reader. I enjoyed it, but must note that there is a lot of very explicit sexual activity and talk in the novel. While it works with the context of the book, I'm sure it would be a turn-off for some readers.
Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer's specific comments; otherwise a 5-star read.”
