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I know that I was writing about books I’ve been reading over there to the right, but I fear that maybe no one is checking that out, mostly because I haven’t seen any “Oh!  I read that!” comments.  So maybe I will try to mix my reviews in with my normal old posts.  I am way behind on books anyway and if those posts are not really being read, well THERE GOES MY MOTIVATION completely!

I just finished Brothers by Yu Hua.  It was a monster of a book, but truly I was so enraptured with it all the way through.  And I had to be as I had put the book on hold at the library, couldn’t finish it in the time I had it on loan and had to BUY it for stinking $30 at Powells.  I justified this thinking that this book represents 3 movies without paying for babysitting, and seeing as how this form of entertainment is actually something attainable, it was probably a good deal.  And here is the thing— It was SOOOOO worth it!  I have gotten so much more than $30 value out of this book.

Brothers follows two, well, brothers during the Cultural Revolution in a small Chinese village and then through the rash of communism to capitalism that follows.  One brother is quiet, intellectual and introspective; the other is brash, loud, and foul-mouthed.  Both brothers love each other, but struggle with a world that is changing right as they are growing up and the way that they conform to the world or make the world conform to their needs is the basis of the narrative.  A side note:  Baldy Li is such an awesome character!  He is so gross and so powerful all at the same time!  Song Gang is also an enjoyable character, but more because you feel so damn sorry for him.  Yu Hua is a foul boy.  If you remember 6th grade humor, you will feel right at home with this author’s comedic repetoire.

Hua’s book is described as a “black comedy”, which I suppose fits.  It reminded me somewhat of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in that ridiculous things happen throughout the story and slowly become fairly believable.  If you are a hoity-toity literature person you would say, “Ding, ding, ding!  Magical Realism!”.  The dings are because you got the answer right.  

The important point of noting that Hua’s book feels like magical realism is only in that the world of the two main characters is so wild and crazy and yet so rich.  Sometimes it is richly ugly, and sometimes it is movingly beautiful.  It is hard to call from page to page; which delighted me.  Even as I finished the book, I found myself taking a deep breath, being so moved by the lovely sentiment, and then gasping with surprise and bursting out in laughter on the final line.  Hua is something of a comedian and had to finish the 654 page book off with a big old punchline.

Go check it out from the library!  Better yet, borrow it from me and then I can get that much more value out of it!

In: Awesome!, Current musings, Reading | | #