In the beginning of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, we find Luo and the narrator living on a mountain called the Phoenix of the Sky in horrible conditions, due to the poor theory of re-education in the Cultural Revolution.
image: 1914 photograph of Nine Dragon Mountain by John Van Antwerp MacMurray
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Title of the original: Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise.
Cover design by Iris Weinstein
Information about author directly from the book:
"Born in China in 1954, Dai Sijie is a filmmaker who was himself "re-educated" between 1971 and 1974. He left China in 1984 for France, where he has lived and worked ever since. This, his first novel, was an overnight sensation when it appeared in France in 2002, becoming an immediate bestseller and winning five prizes. His most recent novel is Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch."
Back cover:
"In this enchanting tale about the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening, two hapless city boys are exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. There they meet the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation. As they flirt with the seamstress and sercetly devour these banned books, they find transit from their grim surroundings to worlds they never imagined."
*all quotes and information, above and following, based on 2001 English translation by Ina Rilke, first Anchor Books edition, published November 2002.
(Picture From: descolines.vox.com)
