This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join Amazon Prime today. Already a member? Sign in.

Ready to Buy?
browns-books
Price: £7.32
In stock
Add to Cart

quartermelon
Price: £8.59
In stock
Add to Cart

31 used & new from £0.01
See All Buying Options

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Tell a Friend
The Girl Who Played Go
 
 
The Girl Who Played Go (Paperback)
by Shan Sa (Author), Adriana Hunter (Translator)
4.5 out of 5 stars  (4 customer reviews)

Availability: Available from these sellers.

31 used & new available from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New Ed) 6 used & new from £4.99
 
   

Product details
  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (3 Jun 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099444984
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099444985
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 536,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
    (Publishers and authors: Improve Your Sales)
  • Other Editions: Paperback (New Ed) |  All Editions


Product Description
Synopsis
Set in Japanese-occupied Manchuria in the 1930s, The Girl who Played Go is a haunting tragedy, a shocking tale of love and war reflected in the age-old game of go. In the Square of a Thousand Winds, snow falls as a sixteen-year-old Chinese girl beats all-comers at the game of go. One of her opponents is, unknown to her, a young Japanese officer of the occupying power, rigidly militaristic, imbued with the imperial ethic, but far from home and intrigued by this young opponent. Their encounters are like the game itself, restrained, subtle and surprisingly fierce. But as their two stories unfold the Japanese army moves inexorably through their huge land, in the vanguard of a greater war, leaving blood and destruction in its wake.

About the Author
Shan Sa was born in 1972 in Beijing. She left China for France in 1990, studied in Paris and worked for two years for the painter Balthus. Her two previous novels were awarded the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman and the Prix Cazes.

Tag this product

 ( What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
Search Products Tagged with
 

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star: 75%  (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star: 25%  (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, 13 Sep 2004
By Jess (Cheshire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
Breathtakingly written, Sa's elegant language carries you through the whirland of love and sorrow life brings. Somehow she manages to capture the deep intensities of love, and leave you with a dark haunting sorrow as the book climbs gracefully to its dramatic climax.

Not only is the language beautiful, but the story it relates is tense, gripping and filled with a rich passion rarely found in contemporary fiction. Set in a shaky country, amid troubled times where people are forced to struggle against all odds to mould their futures in the finicky political environment around them, their is a sort of shy hope that comes with tragedy of love and betrayal depicted.

I've never read any of Shan Sa's other works, but after the taste this book has given me, I'm intrigued by her style, and intoxicated by her portrayal of China, and I've no doubt I will go on to savour every last word she writes. Definiately one of, if not the best book I've ever read.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Silk Cuts, 6 Oct 2004
By Is (Tokyo) - See all my reviews
Shan Sa has written an aloof little book about the violent Japanese occupation of China, as experienced by a Manchurian girl and an officer from Tokyo.

A good half of the book builds up to their eventual meeting over a prolonged game of go. There are quite a few flashbacks to the Tokyo earthquake and the officer's earlier affairs with geishas and prostitutes, while the Manchurian girl gets unwittingly involved in the underg