Mr. Muo's Travelling Couchwritten by Dai Sijie
This is a book I picked up from the "Good Books You May Have Missed" section at the library (also known as the "I'm Too Lazy to Peruse the Shelves for Myself" section, or the "Hassled Mom Wants to Find Something Before Impending Mutiny is Realized" section). I like discovering everything in a book as it comes, which translates to an idiosyncrasy of avoiding reading the dust jacket and choosing books based on their cover art. (Yes, I do - proudly and boldly - choose books by their covers!)
I haven't decided yet whether Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch is a serendipitous finding or an exercise in oddity. Mr. Muo, a psychoanalyst heavily steeped in Freud, has returned to China from a decade in Paris and is engaged in a search for... well, you can discover for yourself, if you read it. I'll just say that the judge Muo is attempting to bribe has enough money.
Muo is like that quirky acquaintance of yours whom you think of fondly, but don't really want to get to know intimately. He's decidedly peculiar and befuddled, and also childlike, somehow. Dai Sijie's lyrical and whimsical writing serves Muo well.
If nothing else, the book will be an interesting exploration of modern China. I'd like to learn more about the Cultural Revolution - and I suppose that even that is enough reason to make the story worthwhile.
2 comments:
Mel, you might be interested in Jan Wong's Red China Blues . She was one of only 2 foreign students allowed to study at Beijing University during the height of the Cultural Revolution. She's got a really unique perspective. It's a fascinating read.
Thanks for the recommendation, Janice. There's a copy at the library, so it'll be at my bedside soon. I'm into the memoir - straight history puts me to sleep!
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