#4 - #8 - Ha Jin, Aichee Min, Mo Yan, Salman Rushdie & Ainsley Harriott
I've been holding off on posting for a while as I had four books by Chinese authors out of the library and I wanted to review them all together. However, Beijing Coma is really interesting but really long so it'll be a while before I finish that and I have other books to write up.
In the Pond - Ha Jin
Is a well written and interesting little book, even if it does occasionally feel much longer than it's short length. The descriptions of the protagonist's relationship to his work and the art itself was at times quite evocative, his frustration with his menial job felt real and I could vividly imagine his posters and cartoons. The plot is mainly about the 'universal nature of human folly' which isn't exactly a subject that thrills me, but it was a well written book and the satire was broad and gentle, so I would certainly read other books by Ha Jin on other topics.
Wild Ginger - Anchee Min
Unsurprisingly this was my favourite of the four books, given that Empress Orchid was the last book I read before I started this project. Anchee Min is known for writing strong female characters and arguably that was the main difference, the female characters, their thoughts and opinions, were central to the narrative, rather than pushed off to the side. It's not exactly a long book but the pages fairly flew by as I read this, the twists and turns of friendship, romance and politics engaging at every turn. In a three of the books by Chinese authors I'm reviewing here, people being crushed, to a greater or lesser extent, in the cogs of the system is a common theme. However, here there felt more of an emotional impact to that crushing balancing the personal tragedy with being emblematic of the damage done to a whole generation. Probably because we see Wild Ginger herself almost entirely through her best friend's eyes as she hurts on her friends behalf and is hurt by her friend in turn. The emotions the girls share during their friendship and after it falls apart, stop Wild Ginger from becoming merely a cipher.
The Garlic Ballads - Mo Yan
The only book I've started for the this project and given up on finishing. I just, didn't care about the characters enough. The book jumps about between character points of views and points in time so I kept loosing track of what had happened to which characters and when. At one point I referred to character guide at the back and only ended up more confused (there are some interesting notes on pronounciation alongside that, but that interested me more than the characters). Having taken two months to read less than half the book, I've admitted defeat. I'm sure other people would really enjoy this, but I couldn't get into it at all.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salmon Rushdie
I keep wondering if I've read this book before, as reading it was very much like having found an old, old friend. I'm fairly certain I haven't because I think if I'd read this when I was nine it would have lodged in a corner of my heart and stayed there much beloved to this day. I was recommended the book and ordered it from the library without realising it was a children's book, but other than wishing I'd read it as a child, this was less of an issue than I might have expected. I would recommend that anyone reading it read the notes on names first as that helps hugely with understanding the word play, and given how much fun Rushdie has with words in this every little extra reference is worth it. (There's a random but subtle dig at Budgie the little Helicopter that made me laugh out loud, but possibly only works if you're British and of a certain age...)
Low Fat Meals in Minutes - Ainsley Harriott
Ainsley Harriott is my personal favourite of the glut of 'celebrity chefs' that are ubiquitous here. His recipes being generally far more pragmatic, less flouncy and something that non professional cooks can actually make at home. Plus the food tastes really good too - I made paella from his recipe that tastes just like the paella I ate in Barcelona which I count as a definite win. There's a quote from the author on the back that sums up my reasons for enjoying his books:
I want this book to be about enjoying food, reducing fat but still offering quick, tasty and substantial meals that are a pleasure to eat, not a punishment.
There's none of this, fancy dinner party foods (though I would definitely feed it to any friends who came for tea), just good solid food that uses interesting ingredients and that you can imagine feeding to your gran or the kids. There are helpful explanations and suggestions for substitutes, alongside notes about preparation times and anecdotes.
In the Pond - Ha Jin
Is a well written and interesting little book, even if it does occasionally feel much longer than it's short length. The descriptions of the protagonist's relationship to his work and the art itself was at times quite evocative, his frustration with his menial job felt real and I could vividly imagine his posters and cartoons. The plot is mainly about the 'universal nature of human folly' which isn't exactly a subject that thrills me, but it was a well written book and the satire was broad and gentle, so I would certainly read other books by Ha Jin on other topics.
Wild Ginger - Anchee Min
Unsurprisingly this was my favourite of the four books, given that Empress Orchid was the last book I read before I started this project. Anchee Min is known for writing strong female characters and arguably that was the main difference, the female characters, their thoughts and opinions, were central to the narrative, rather than pushed off to the side. It's not exactly a long book but the pages fairly flew by as I read this, the twists and turns of friendship, romance and politics engaging at every turn. In a three of the books by Chinese authors I'm reviewing here, people being crushed, to a greater or lesser extent, in the cogs of the system is a common theme. However, here there felt more of an emotional impact to that crushing balancing the personal tragedy with being emblematic of the damage done to a whole generation. Probably because we see Wild Ginger herself almost entirely through her best friend's eyes as she hurts on her friends behalf and is hurt by her friend in turn. The emotions the girls share during their friendship and after it falls apart, stop Wild Ginger from becoming merely a cipher.
The Garlic Ballads - Mo Yan
The only book I've started for the this project and given up on finishing. I just, didn't care about the characters enough. The book jumps about between character points of views and points in time so I kept loosing track of what had happened to which characters and when. At one point I referred to character guide at the back and only ended up more confused (there are some interesting notes on pronounciation alongside that, but that interested me more than the characters). Having taken two months to read less than half the book, I've admitted defeat. I'm sure other people would really enjoy this, but I couldn't get into it at all.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salmon Rushdie
I keep wondering if I've read this book before, as reading it was very much like having found an old, old friend. I'm fairly certain I haven't because I think if I'd read this when I was nine it would have lodged in a corner of my heart and stayed there much beloved to this day. I was recommended the book and ordered it from the library without realising it was a children's book, but other than wishing I'd read it as a child, this was less of an issue than I might have expected. I would recommend that anyone reading it read the notes on names first as that helps hugely with understanding the word play, and given how much fun Rushdie has with words in this every little extra reference is worth it. (There's a random but subtle dig at Budgie the little Helicopter that made me laugh out loud, but possibly only works if you're British and of a certain age...)
Low Fat Meals in Minutes - Ainsley Harriott
Ainsley Harriott is my personal favourite of the glut of 'celebrity chefs' that are ubiquitous here. His recipes being generally far more pragmatic, less flouncy and something that non professional cooks can actually make at home. Plus the food tastes really good too - I made paella from his recipe that tastes just like the paella I ate in Barcelona which I count as a definite win. There's a quote from the author on the back that sums up my reasons for enjoying his books:
I want this book to be about enjoying food, reducing fat but still offering quick, tasty and substantial meals that are a pleasure to eat, not a punishment.
There's none of this, fancy dinner party foods (though I would definitely feed it to any friends who came for tea), just good solid food that uses interesting ingredients and that you can imagine feeding to your gran or the kids. There are helpful explanations and suggestions for substitutes, alongside notes about preparation times and anecdotes.