- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Qpd (2007)
- ASIN: B0052U2S62
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was a little put off by the premise of "A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers", as the fact its claim to be written in "deliberately bad English" sounded suspiciously gimmicky to me. I over-rode my apprehensions and bought the book, however - and I'm very glad that I did. This book is well-deserving of its shortlisting for the 2007 Orange Broadband Prize, and while I still think the concept is something of a marketing ploy, it is all the same an integral part of the book, and one which became less noticeable the more of it I read.
Xialou's characterisation of a Chinese girl setting foot out of her country for the first time is pitch-perfect. Zhuang is comic, naive, and eager to learn, and in spite of her lack of academic qualifications, she is a true philosopher. It is so very rare to feel as though one is next to a character, experiencing everything she experiences and watching the London streets through her eyes. I honestly can't remember the last time I've felt so close to a fictional character, as though she were sharing all her secrets with me.
There are moments when I thought that Xiaolu could have afforded to have honed her subtlety a little - for example, a reference to "Walt Whiteman" late in the novel made me wince. There were also times when I felt that Zhuang was becoming a little repetitive. That being said, it wasn't all miss. There are some really beautiful moments of honesty, where Zhuang speaks plainly, breaking back into Mandarin and saying: "I am sick of speaking English like this. I am sick of writing English like this. I feel as if I am being tied up, as if I am living in a prison...the English culture surrounding me becomes enormous. It swallows me, and it rapes me. I am dominated by it." It is simply put and without flourishes - and expresses what she is feeling so well.
Everything considered, it's a beautiful book which manages to be socially relevant without becoming "soap boxy". The language is quietly passionate, the characters are well-crafted, and the story is uncomplicated and thoroughly believable. The comedic touches are expertly placed: Xiaolu often writes with one eyebrow arched ironically in the reader's direction. Certainly pick it up if you ever have the opportunity.
Xialou's characterisation of a Chinese girl setting foot out of her country for the first time is pitch-perfect. Zhuang is comic, naive, and eager to learn, and in spite of her lack of academic qualifications, she is a true philosopher. It is so very rare to feel as though one is next to a character, experiencing everything she experiences and watching the London streets through her eyes. I honestly can't remember the last time I've felt so close to a fictional character, as though she were sharing all her secrets with me.
There are moments when I thought that Xiaolu could have afforded to have honed her subtlety a little - for example, a reference to "Walt Whiteman" late in the novel made me wince. There were also times when I felt that Zhuang was becoming a little repetitive. That being said, it wasn't all miss. There are some really beautiful moments of honesty, where Zhuang speaks plainly, breaking back into Mandarin and saying: "I am sick of speaking English like this. I am sick of writing English like this. I feel as if I am being tied up, as if I am living in a prison...the English culture surrounding me becomes enormous. It swallows me, and it rapes me. I am dominated by it." It is simply put and without flourishes - and expresses what she is feeling so well.
Everything considered, it's a beautiful book which manages to be socially relevant without becoming "soap boxy". The language is quietly passionate, the characters are well-crafted, and the story is uncomplicated and thoroughly believable. The comedic touches are expertly placed: Xiaolu often writes with one eyebrow arched ironically in the reader's direction. Certainly pick it up if you ever have the opportunity.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Wonderful book!
You share a journey with the book's narrator, someone who's discovering London, Britain, Europe, Men and herself... Some parts of the journey are extremely funny, some parts are sad, others joyfull! All written from a fresh perspective and very, very readable...
My Chinese fiancee has also read this, loves it and confirms it's very true to the Chinese experience of arriving in London!
And finally, it's not Chick-Lit!
You share a journey with the book's narrator, someone who's discovering London, Britain, Europe, Men and herself... Some parts of the journey are extremely funny, some parts are sad, others joyfull! All written from a fresh perspective and very, very readable...
My Chinese fiancee has also read this, loves it and confirms it's very true to the Chinese experience of arriving in London!
And finally, it's not Chick-Lit!
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was very moved by this book - a 'Love Story' for the C21. In principal it is a simple story of a Chinese girl coming to London to learn English.... but as the girl struggles to learn and make herself understood, she increasingly questions the attitudes and values of the English, and in particular her lover, a would-be artist, framer and drop-out. (Not so much culture clash as cultures zooming in opposite directions!) Along the way she begins to examine her own attitudes and values, and her inner conflict over her status as a mere 'lover.' As she masters the language, another frustration grows - the relationship is doomed: the understanding arrives, but the desire does not depart.
This is as much a coming-of-age/loss-of-innocence story as it is about East meeting West; told with startling honesty, wit and insight. It hits out at the nature of love, and comes closer than many of the more 'serious' books.
Don't be put off by the "deliberately bad" English - it adds to the sense of disorientation, but the vocabulary is chosen with precision and intelligence so the meaning becomes clear with very little effort.
This is as much a coming-of-age/loss-of-innocence story as it is about East meeting West; told with startling honesty, wit and insight. It hits out at the nature of love, and comes closer than many of the more 'serious' books.
Don't be put off by the "deliberately bad" English - it adds to the sense of disorientation, but the vocabulary is chosen with precision and intelligence so the meaning becomes clear with very little effort.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
brilliant book
This book was amazing, it really got me into this straight away
I have recommended to friends and family to read this, the way it was written really made me feel like i... Read more
I have recommended to friends and family to read this, the way it was written really made me feel like i... Read more
Published 1 month ago by london girl
A sad but believable story about a young girls loss of innocence as...
When I first started to read this I was put off by the way it has been deliberately written in bad English. Read more
Published 2 months ago by LindyLouMac
Very captivating
I borrowed this from my friend's bookshelf as I always do, and I was a bit worried as it's written by a chinese lady in a very foreign sort of way... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Laura82
Not romantic, not what I expected
I didn't enjoy this story at all. First of, I didn't like the main characters' personalities. Z always sounded complaining and with a pessimistic outlook on life and the man sounds... Read more
Published 8 months ago by S. Dickenson
Interesting concept but ultimately very disappointing
I liked the approach of this book, with a student of English language studying in London and gradually learning more and more words and British concepts during a disappointing love... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Puskas
A love story
A beautiful story about a young chinese woman who is sent to London to learn English so that she can return to China and help her parents run their shoe factory. Read more
Published 18 months ago by bluebellgirl
Just really poignant and sad, (but funny too) to read
I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit slow at first but then I couldn't put it down as the relationship between the 2 main characters is so believable and enviable (until the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Jayney
Illuminating but melancholic
As a student of all things Chinese, i was easily persuaded by a friend's recommendation to read this novel with an unusual structure and style as wel as title. Read more
Published 20 months ago by R. Darlington
general and specific
I greatly enjoyed reading this book, on the one hand, it is a love stury, but many general aspects on how a chinese girls is confronted with Europe, how they perceive it and how... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Heinz Mueller
I LOVE this book!
This was one of my favourite books last year & I also purchased it for two different friends who also thought it was fab. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Chickpea
Listmania!
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