I loved how it turned a cliched love story into something fresh. As a sober romantic, I love when books tip the scales toward the romantic, which the sober in me always keeps a close eye on and checks for false cords. This book did it really well and sent me back to the younger and more naive person I was years ago. It was a wonderful feeling.
LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI PRIZE 2021 A Guardian Book of the Year
'The highest talent at work' Sebastian Barry
'Beautiful ... A masterpiece' Attitude
Poland, 1980. Shy, anxious Ludwik has been sent along with the rest of his university class to an agricultural camp. Here he meets Janusz - and together they spend a dreamlike summer falling in love.
But with summer over, the two are sent back to Warsaw. Confronted by the scrutiny, intolerance and corruption of life under the Party, Ludwik and Janusz must decide how they will survive; and in their different choices, find themselves torn apart.…
It was great to find out how we haven't changed at all since ancient times, that we haven't evolved emotionally, and that we're just as crazy, delusional and whacky as we were in ancient China as we are today. The story felt completely modern and so real, like a modern psychological thriller.
"Here at last is an accurate and enjoyable rendering of Lu Xun's fiction in an American English idiom that masterfully captures the sardonic wit, melancholy pathos, and ironic vision of China's first truly modern writer." -Michael S. Duke, University of British Columbia
The inventor of the modern Chinese short story, Lu Xun is universally regarded as twentieth century China's greatest writer. This long awaited volume presents new translations of all Lu Xun's stories, including his first, “Remembrances of the Past,” written in classical Chinese. These new renderings faithfully convey both the brilliant style and the pungent expression for which Lu…
Such a fresh and quirky take on life in the modern world. I loved how the protagonist switched the perspective and instead of feeling bad about not conforming to society's expectations from her, examined the expectations themselves as something strange and peculiar and, essentially, unhealthy. A quick and very enjoyable read.
A fresh perspective on Zionism’s cultural revolution in the first half of the 20th century that explores how nationalism radically reshaped modern Jewish life by reaching into the past to revive ancient Jewish glories in a bold, modern guise.
