J's Pages

[It's been a while since I read a book. I watch too much TV these days. It took a vacation to get me to finish a book, and even then, I only cracked it after watching a movie on the plane.]

To Live is the life story of Fugui, an old farmer who recounts his tale to a young scholar who is doing research in his village. Fugui is born and raised in a well to do family in China in the early part of the 20th Century. Things go bad and the family loses its modest fortune. Fugui learns to make a living as a tenant farmer. The story tells how he and his family fare as the events that changed China affect him and his community. I'm familiar familiar enough with traditional Chinese culture and modern Chinese history that everything made sense to me. I could also understand the contentment that Fugui displays at the beginning and end of the book. As an American reader, I wasn't satisfied with it, but don't let that stop you from checking it out.  

LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut

// posted by John @ 3:35 PM