Life

I listened to the reading of Robert Wu of the translation by Chloe Estep on a Brilliance Audio compact disc. The 7 hour, 38 minute performance was well-done for the most part, though some of the character's voices were perhaps exaggerated, and the proper names are read with the tones appropriate to Chinese, a learning experience, even if somewhat jarring to this American listener. Jao Jialin, only son of older, illiterate peasants in a rural district, excelled at school and qualified for high school in the county seat. But he failed entry into university and one of the few jobs available is that of teacher in the village school. The story opens with his losing this position and the status that goes with it due to influence of the local chairman who maneuvers a friend's son into that position. Thereafter opportunities and misfortunes befall our hero until he makes a gamble that affects the people he loves most. The story is tragic, but like life, it is an ennobling tragedy. We are sadder, but wiser in the knowledge of life's limitations, and how we may regard what is valuable in life. Our Author has Shakespeare's ability to reflect multiple perspectives. The young and talented don't know how gifted they are and their impatience leads to premature decisions. The elder see the bigger picture and their expectations are tempered with patience and calculations based on experience. At the same time, both young and old are beset by feelings of entitlement, the young by their perceived talent and ability, the old by their having "paid dues;" thus each is confounded by social and political change which disrupts expectations and past investments. Our Author presents his characters with great sympathy. Even those who do wrong are at least made understandable. And above all, the interconnectedness of human happiness is laid bare. Jao Jialin's fortunes affect so many others, a burden he sometimes chooses to deny, and at other times he finds intolerably oppressive. The story acknowledges the tension between those who pursue the romantic (arbitrary) love and other loved ones (taken for granted) affected by this, giving the lie to the Western assertion that "who I love is my own business and no one else's." The rich detail gives a vivid picture of rural China in the 1980's. The older rural folk recall the traditions prior to Communism, in contrast with those in middle age whose mental outlook was formed by Communist ideas. The latter takes the form of communal work and communal sharing, but one of the developments (reforms) being implemented is rewarding according to productivity. Under this new reform productive young people might earn more than their elders who, in their youth, had yielded their greater productivity to the broader community. Parallels to American debates about Social Security can be discerned by the reader. These changes are, naturally, more advanced in the cities, and this makes a career in bureaucracy all the more attractive to Jao. But this would require leaving his parents behind. And his choice of a wife is affected. The irony of romance is powerfully portrayed by understatement and objective report. The woman who is won too easily appears likely to be boring in the long run; her very virtues of loyalty and social responsibility appear likely to hold one back from pursuing adventure. On the other hand, the woman who would leave her partner for you may just be willing to leave you should a more exciting prospect come along. And the very heightened expectations at the inception of a romantic relationship make for deep disillusionment down the road. This the elders understand but the young can only learn through bitter experience. The story is refreshingly free of ideology or dogmatism about politics. The party and its apparatus are simply there, like the post office or civic offices for most Americans. Village politics are affected much more by the web of relationships and shared local history than by any slogans or mass media. Corruption has been a fact of life for many years and even attempts to eliminate it have ramifications for the community conditioned by, and grown dependent upon, its structures. In one of the ironies of Life, Jao loses his first job due to due to string-pulling, and then gets a better job suited to his talents with great prospects, by the same means, unseen by himself. But he then loses this in a crackdown on such backroom arrangements, triggered by his own decision that offends someone he does not know. And one thing Communist ideology has not displaced is class-consciousness, particularly between the literate and the illiterate. The former are strongly tempted to look down on the latter while the latter have a more ambivalent perspective, some resentful of the better educated to the point of choosing illiteracy, while others take a more respectful attitude toward learning without forfeiting their own dignity. Although there is no hint of Christianity in this story, there is an abundance of grace. Most of the characters are people of good will, conditioned by cultural values, a kind of folk Confucianism, to respect others, especially the aged and other authorities. There is a becoming modesty about sex, an internalized self-discipline. This is part of the shame involved in being self-serving to the detriment of others. And there is forgiveness and acceptance. The suitor is willing to be accepted as the bride's second choice; the forgiveness and sympathy of villagers is extended to the village son returned home in defeat; the jilted lover wishes his ex and her new lover well; and above all, the dignity of people whatever their station in life, especially of those who work and benefit others even in the smallest ways. Life is bigger than our dreams, and this is a truth that transcends culture. As Cat Stevens wrote, "You will soon be there tomorrow but your dreams may not."

A beautifully written saga with fascinating insights into the peasant life of China. The story is very easy to read and throws up lots of questions regarding the huge dependence small communities have on ‘what others’ think....a different take on keeping up with the Jones’s. The characters are so passionately portrayed in terms of their individual perceptions of life, that it makes one want to shake them at times. It a quick read and the style of writing suits the subject matter perfectly - I.e. simple. I Highly recommend this book for its portrayal of the China only an insider can communicate .

Not a complex plot, I felt like reading through a soap opera. But given the time during which this piece of work was written and published, the simplicity is understandable.

I found this to be a wonderful easy reading book. The story is relatable on a fundamental level, timeless. However, it is also an interesting look into the every day life of a Chinese peasant in the communist system. It seems to show both good and bad things about that life to not just words of praise. Give it a shot!

The novel set in rural China at the beginning of the 1980s. Gao Jialin has a major decision to make when his job as a community teacher is terminated: stay in his rural village where life is familiar, and he can continue writing poetry, or move to the exciting city, an hour away, where life is unknown. Liu Qiaozhen is glad Gao Jialin is a peasant again – she is in love with him. She does not want him to move to the city. In Part Two, Gao Jialin rejects rural life. In the city he meets Huang Yaping, a woman with ‘modern’ ideas. His sudden appearance had ‘turned her peaceful world upside down’ – she is in love with him. She does not want him to return to the country. Now what was he to do. He had a choice of two locations, two loves, and two lives. When Liu Qiaozhen travels to the city to surprise Gao Jialin, his two lives clash. This novel is a delightful story about the struggle between family ties, parental expectations, professional goals, romantic loves, and personal fulfilment. The writing is sparse but evocative, revealing Jialin’s personal journey, both physically and emotionally, against the backdrop of a nation undergoing its own transformations.

Life is the late Lu Yao’s first book and the first English translation of this giant of Chinese literature. The novel is, simply put, a masterpiece and Lu Yao's multiple awards are well-deserved. On the one hand it is a quick and easy read. On the surface it is a tragedy, a love triangle that ends in heartbreaks and broken dreams because of selfishness, arrogance, ambition, and pride. It ends with a hint of hopefulness: despite the flaws of our protagonists, if they learn from their chastisements, they might still find some degree of happiness. On the other hand, it is a parable for life in China in the early 1980s at the end of the Cultural Revolution and the beginning of the cultural and economic opening-up of China. Some contemporary Americans may look back with nostalgia to 80s and simpler times by watching documentaries like “The Toys that Made Us.” I doubt most Chinese have much nostalgia for the 80s, but this novel serves as something of analogous glance back to the childhood of today’s 40 and 50 year-olds. Moreover, it is a deeply philosophical novel. In the vein of Emerson or Wendell Berry, Lu Yao reflects on the traditional values of rural, agricultural life and the creeping threat of urbanization and economic and technological “progress.” Lu Yao is no luddite, but he mourns the coming loss that comes with the destruction of life lived in close relationship with the land and dependent on the support of one’s village neighbors. Happiness is not to be found in success and wealth, but rather in loving one’s spouse well, in giving to one’s neighbors, in keeping promises, in hard work, and in living close to the land.

I feel like the translation didn't do the real book justice. It felt like a simple book. However, I could feel the soul of the story beneath the translation.

I got this translated English version for free on World Book Day. I read both its original version and this translated English version. I like its original version more.

This is a book that has been languishing on my TBR list for a considerable amount of time. I was ambivalent about reading it, having picked it up as a freebie. Now, I am really pleased that I read it. The story is based on Gao Jialin a young Chinese man,born to poor peasant parents, he is intelligent and capable. The book is about this struggle to find a place in life that he believes is befitting for him. It follows his ups and downs, and discovery of love. There are quite a few life lessons in this book and it really resonated with me.

An enjoyable and straightforward story with the clear lesson to appreciate what you have, plus a few more that I won’t go into. The language was plain that made for an easy read. It told of changing China, the young want more just as the young of the west do. All in all a satisfying book.

I found it choppy and, well, artificial, for lack of a better word. I skimmed through the book as I found it difficult to get attached to the characters. It was way more about a love story with a soppy romance and sad ending than anything else.