"Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" by Dai Sijie

When I started this blog, I set out to introduce people to new worlds, as well as critique fantasy books, sci-fi books, historical fiction books, classic novels, and books of those genres blended with romance. Somewhere down the line, I forgot to critique the historical fiction of authors who still live and breathe as of now. And so, without further ado, I introduce you to Dai Sijie (a living author), and his intricate historical fiction, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.

I picked this book up, as per usual, at a thrift store, and upon looking at the cover, my decision was made- I must read this. But, as time marched on, I didn't read it, that is, until last year, when my reading quota was down due to switching states. Dusting it off, I began to read, and found myself immersed in the Cultural Revolution of China.

If you want to learn about the Cultural Revolution, this is the book I would advise you to read. Although it is fiction, and admittedly, I knew little about the Cultural Revolution before I picked up this book, it gives you the experience of feeling like you've lived it, as much as is possible from the comfort of your own armchair. The characters aren't characters to you, they're people. Everything about the story seems so plausible that you are convinced that it somehow must be non-fiction, even though it is clearly marked "a novel".

The Plot:
Our unnamed narrator and his friend Luo (both teenagers) are sent to the countryside of China to be "re-educated" by villagers, on the mountain called "Phoenix of the Sky". There the narrator's violin is set to be burned, until the boys say that they can play "Mozart is Thinking of Chairman Mao" on it, saving it from destruction. Their alarm clock also causes a stir amongst the villagers, who are used to setting their day by sunrise and sunset. They soon meet the Little Seamstress, who lives on the other side of the mountain, and quite curiously, has a book set out on her sewing table, even though such items are surely banned if not written by Chairman Mao...

This book makes you realize how lucky you are to be able to read any book, no matter what the current leader of your country favors. And the ability to listen to the music of your choice, at any time, not just in the dead of night when the wind is howling. It educates us all on how we often take everything in our lives for granted, because often it is the little things that we like that we think make us unique.

For example, my view of my interests, if I could use books, music, tv shows, movies, ect.:

My favorite books are the Bible, Rebecca, the Lord of the Rings series, Gone With the Wind, The Hero and the Crown, and countless more. I love listening to Queen, the Killers, Florence and the Machine, classic rock, and the occasional rapper. I watch The Blacklist, Defiance, Sherlock, Elementary, and Ghost Hunters devotedly. My favorite movies are The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings movies, Star Wars movies, Star Trek movies, and Bridesmaids. I love reading, writing, painting, cooking, baking, and playing with my dogs.

The Cultural Revolution edition of me?

Err... I knit, cook, bake, paint Chairman Mao on walls, rewrite his quotes, and train my dogs to herd sheep.

Can you imagine how difficult it would be to separate yourself as an individual during that time? You wouldn't feel like yourself, because your interests were suddenly off limits, and even if you did manage to hide some precious books, you couldn't read them openly, unless your country's leader approved of them.

Nowadays, people like reading about dystopian societies, as in books like the Hunger Games, and Divergent. But before we read those, perhaps we should take a couple days to read up on our own histories of societies that weren't so great, even if the book is historical fiction.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a book that makes you think about many things, written in such a way that makes it easy to devour. There are countless moments where you laugh with the characters, and other moments that bring you to the brink of tears. It is, at times, difficult to continue, but in the end, it is a solid read about a most troubling time in Chinese history.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars for a beautiful portrait of a disturbing time in history.

Content: This book deals with difficult subjects, most notably abortion. Best read when 18 or older.

Page Count: 184 in my paperback edition

"Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archive #2)" by Brandon Sanderson

A critique on the first book in the Stormlight Archive can be found here.
This is a review on the second book in the Stormlight Archive series, and if you haven't read The Way of Kings, you should probably read it before reading this review. Be forewarned: these books are massive, 1000+ page tomes. You may end up dreaming about Roshar for the rest of your days...

I must inform you all: I didn't expect this book to be this incredible. As the second book in a series, often  the author often doesn't spend as much time polishing the prose, or is rushed to meet the publisher's deadline. Well, Brandon Sanderson (the Benevolent) is clearly a super-author, because his writing just keeps getting better, his action scenes more fluid, his characters more real.

When I first started the book, I thought Mr. Sanderson (the Benevolent) would end the book with a cliffhanger, as the main plot of this book seemed suited for it. I was wincing with the inevitable pain of not learning the fates of the main characters. Imagine my surprise when I read the ending, and most, but not all, plotlines were neatly wrapped up, to this reader's satisfaction. I became slightly confused. Why didn't Mr. Sanderson (the Benevolent) go the way of all the cruel authors before him, and leave us hanging? How could he be so... nice with his readers, and give us a good, well-thought-out, reasonable ending?

My only rational conclusion to these pressing queries? I can only guess it is because he wants to keep his title, as Brandon Sanderson "the Benevolent".

The Plot:
Jasnah Kholin and Shallan are headed to the Shattered Plains, while Jasnah recommends Shallan study up on a book called "Words of Radiance". Jasnah has managed to arrange a causal betrothal for Shallan to, if everything pans out, wed her cousin, Adolin. Dalinar's visions become more intense with every highstorm, and rumors about why he is sequestered away from everyone during those times begin to leak out. Adolin strikes up a rivalry with Kaladin, the newest captain of his father's guard, who everyone looks down on because he is a darkeyes, until he proves his merit. Rumor has it a strange man has been seen, flying above the Shattered Plains. An assassin in white continues his reign of terror by killing off leaders of different countries in Roshar. And a pattern emerges, in the most unexpected of places...

Also, I can't help myself, so a minor spoiler if you highlight the following: Shallan kisses Kaladin! And I knew it would happen, but... I must say I am a fan of that pairing. Not so much love with Shallan/Adolin.

As I read the final pages of this tome, I knew Mr. Sanderson (the Benevolent) had truly nailed it with this book. Epic fantasy at its best leads you places where you want to wander, lets you feel its magic as though it truly exists, and introduces you to characters you simply will never forget. Even with his zany multiple point-of-view system, you feel like you've known each of the main characters since childhood, and could actually be friends with them. Roshar feels like it exists, in some faraway galaxy, just waiting to be stumbled upon by modern science. The magic system leaps off the page, fathomable and rational.

How is it that I rated the first book in the series only four stars, while this one surpassed five? I've never had a series where the subsequent entries outranked the first installment, so this is a first, but I suppose it has something to do with the author himself. Brandon Sanderson (the Benevolent) is getting better with age. And I cannot wait to see what he writes next!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars for an exceptional second book to a new favorite series!

Content: Violence, guts, glory, and Stormlight, oh my! Recommended for ages 16+, due to content from the previous book (very harsh slavery).

Page Count: a Behemoth at 1087 pages in the hardcover edition.

"The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1)" By Brandon Sanderson

And so we come to one of my favorite Sanderson (the Benevolent, click this to learn why) tales, the one he set out to write pre-Mistborn, but delayed it until 2010. Mistborn was never a "must-read" for me, rather disappointing after reading all those rave reviews. The Way of Kings was brought to my attention because it was so wide, taking up the room of two books, on a shelf at Barnes and Noble. I have always measured a book's value on the unfair "price per page" quota, and let me tell you, this one was cheap. 1252 jam-packed pages for $8.99? I had to buy it. For your information, this book is currently sold at the astonishing price of $2.99 as an e-book on Amazon. Yet another reason Brandon Sanderson deserves his title as "the Benevolent".

When I actually opened the book and began reading, it was one of those weird worlds. Everything felt fresh, in terms of world-building, and that made it difficult to dive in. I felt utterly mauled with my brain asking me questions: What's a safe-hand? What are the Knights Radiant? What's that creature supposed to look like? Why is Szeth hated when he's so relatable?

I like big books and I cannot lie...

At first, my downfall in reading this was ignoring Shallan's sketches. I didn't realize they had anything to do with the world-building. If you read The Way of Kings: you must study the sketches! I know, we aren't kids anymore, and we shouldn't need pictures to guide us in any book. But answer this question, and honestly: Have you ever read an entire epic fantasy series where the characters are constantly adventuring or moving around, without at least glancing at the map? Methinks not.

The Plot:
Szeth (Truthless of Shinovar) is an assassin, who uses Stormlight to carry out his dastardly deeds, though against his own wishes. Shallan is a nobleman's daughter, whose father recently passed, leaving her and her brothers in debt, though she plans to amend that by switching their broken Soulcaster with Jasnah Kholin's Soulcaster. Kaladin is a healer in training, who joins the army because his brother was enlisted, and he wishes to keep him safe. He fails miserably, his brother dies in battle, in a subsequent battle he refuses to take up the Shardplate and Blade he has rightfully won, resulting in his betrayal by Brightlord Amaram, who takes the booty for himself and sells Kaladin to a slaver. Highprince Dalinar Kholin is on the front lines of the war, the Shattered Plains, with his son Adolin. Dalinar has visions during highstorms. Adolin fears his father is "Going Slightly Mad" (Queen song, couldn't help myself). Dalinar is Jasnah's uncle, as well as uncle to the current king Elhokar. The previous king, Gavilar, was assassinated by Szeth.

The characters' storylines intersect on multiple occasions. If you skip someone's chapter, you will miss something, so I advise you to read every bit, no matter how tedious. I didn't find the book tedious, but it did lull at times when the author was busy informing us of something about the world. When you write a book this humongous, that is bound to happen, no matter how talented the author may be.

Here's some terms you should know before venturing into the vast world of Roshar:
Stormlight: A blue glowing light/magic produced by highstorms
Highstorm: A storm to be compared with Super Storm Sandy, that happens every few days in the book, except for a period of calm known as the Weeping. If you are outside during a highstorm, you die. If you leave currency or gemstones out during highstorms, they become charged with Stormlight.
Lighteyes: If you have light (blue, gray, green) eyes, you are a lighteyes, and therefore a noble, or of noble blood. Roshar would be your oyster.
Darkeyes: If you have dark (brown) eyes, you are a darkeyes, and therefore a peasant, or not looked upon very highly. Roshar would be hell for you to live in.
Parshmen: basically the most obedient slave you could imagine. They have skin "marbled" with pale color, black, and/or deep crimson. They are somewhat related to the Parshendi.
Safe-hand: If you are a woman, you keep your left hand covered. If you are a lighteyes, you cover it with an extra-long sleeve buttoned at the bottom. If you are a darkeyes woman, you can just use a glove.
Shardplate: Basically an Iron-Man-type suit without the flying and rockets/bullets. It makes you faster, stronger, and very hard to kill. It is said that if a darkeyes wore this, he would become a lighteyes. It is charged with Stormlight via gemstones.
Shardblade: A blade which can kill without leaving an obvious sign (cut, wound, etc.). It is summoned from thin air, unless the master wills it to remain visible. It is also powered by Stormlight-infused gemstones.

As usual, Mr. Sanderson's characters are interesting and relatable. Shallan was a bit disappointing for me, though in the next book she's more fully breathed, and her past is cleared up. Kaladin was easily my favorite, as he is an underdog who hates the lighteyes/darkeyes system, as he's a darkeyes (the only one as a main character, except for maybe Szeth). Szeth came in a close second in terms of favorite characters, as he is a reluctant assassin, and as Truthless, he is forced to do his master's bidding in all things. Dalinar and Adolin were okay, but I read the book mainly for Kaladin's, Szeth's, and Shallan's perspectives.

I was genuinely enthralled by this book, because if I wasn't I wouldn't have been able to finish it. It is a massive undertaking for any reader to commit to reading 1000+ pages, regardless of genre. I would never recommend this to a fair-weather fantasy reader, as it might be a bit difficult to swallow because of its size and content. One of my friends on Goodreads was put off by Kaladin's slavery and treatment during it. I admit, it was a bit of a shock to see Sanderson delve into the more gritty violence of epic fantasy, but I have always been acclimated to such things, as a girl growing up in a patriarchal reign of tyranny. If you can't stand the idea of someone being a slave, and managing to survive it by the skin of his teeth, this book isn't for you. Quite plainly, this is very hard to read at times, but I wasn't put off to the point of stopping. If you've survived reading Game of Thrones, and you liked it, you can probably tolerate this.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars, for a whole new fantasy realm to wander in!

Content: Violence, slavery, prejudice, and assassinations. Probably better read when you are 16+ years old.

Page Count: 1252 pages in my mass market paperback. It's ginormous, people.