A tripped-out, sarcastic novel of urban alienation, Playing for Thrills follows the investigation of a mysterious murder of a possibly imaginary character that took place more than ten years before. The chief suspect is the narrator of the novel who may or may not have committed the crime - even he isn't sure. As our charismatic antihero careens around Beijing drinking beer, having sex, and questioning a bunch of people who speak like characters in a gangster movie, he tries to find someone who can remind him which girl he was with and what he was doing at the time of the murder. Suddenly, the narrative explodes, and the reader is thrust into a countdown leading up to the crime itself. The result is a sometimes frightening, sometimes hilarious, always astonishing novel that is totally unlike anything ever published from China.
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First Sentence
I stayed up all night playing poker with some friends. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I stayed up all night playing poker with some friends. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A. Ross
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
I read some of the hype about this book and picked it up... It resulted in possibly the most annoying few hours I've ever spent reading. Make no mistake, I enjoy good surrealism (Gogol for one) and noir (Chandler, et al), and I am reasonably well steeped in Asian pop culture, but this was a total disappointment. It starts confusingly, but I figured things would gradually clear up as I read along, however by the end I was no further along in understanding the book. The aimless plot clearly is meant as a portrait and critique of modern urban Chinese society, with it's attendant cynical wheeler-dealer underworld figures, but that's about it. Stephen King bafflingly blurbed it as "the most brilliantly entertaining hardboiled novel of the 90s." It might actually work better as film, perhaps in the hands of a master of atmosphere and mood like Wong Kar Wai.
By Segun
Format:Paperback
This is a wonderful inspiring and ultimately moving book. A detective novel for people who like mind games, who love to have their perception of reality distorted and played with. If you enjoy psychological thriller films like Angel Heart or The Machinist, where the protagonist has difficulty in distinguishing subjective from objective reality, you will probably love this novel. The hero is malcontent lowlife in his late 20s, who isn't sure if he participated in the disappearance of a friend. He spends the book interviewing his old friends around China to discover what really happened on a drunken rainy night 10 years before. For me, it was like Catcher in the Rye seen through the multiple perspective structure of Citizen Kane. Well worth this bargain basement price on Amazon!
Format:Hardcover
Having spent some more than a few weeks sat round card tables in China, drinking copious amounts of bi jou , wondering what is happening around me I decided to read this book to relive some of the days I spent careering around this mysterious country. Hoping also, that I would find some answers along the way. It didn't take long before I found myself submerged in those confused days which were brought back through the prose and humour captured in this book. Possibly not the most lucid tale of debauch but certainly a gripping look at the twisted side of China as the country strides towards its shaded resplendence. Definitely worth a read due to its post Cultural Revolution setting, narrated by lost youth.
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3.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
i don't see why folks couldn't follow the plot
certainly there were times when you might lose a thread, but i don't get why people didn't think the plot came together. Read more
Published on 26 Dec 1998
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some parts are good
I read this book because I was interested in reading something from China. They say Shuo is the most popular writer in China, so.. Read more
Published on 18 April 1998
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Believe the Hype
I saw some of the hype about this book and picked it up at my local library...wish I hadn't. It resulted in possibly the most annoying few hours I've ever spent reading. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 1997
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