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The Noodle Maker
 
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The Noodle Maker (Paperback)

by Ma Jian (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Chatto & Windus (6 May 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0701176059
  • ISBN-13: 978-0701176051
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.2 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 687,308 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description

Written in the aftermath of the Tiananmen massacre, The Noodle Maker is a virtuoso piece of 'red humour' - a darkly funny novel about the absurdities and cruelties of life in modern China. Every week, a writer of political propaganda and a professional blood-donor meet for dinner. They make unlikely friends, the one tortured by the desire for intellectual excellence, the other more concerned with the down-to-earth practicalities of life. Nevertheless, the writer enjoys the blood-donor's company, perhaps because, as the richer of the two, he provides the dinner. Over the course of one especially gastronomic and drunken evening, the writer moves from complaints about his latest commission - the composition of an epic account of a Communist hero - to recount the stories he would really like to write, had he the freedom. A young man buys an old kiln from an art school and opens a private crematorium, delighting in his ability to harass the corpses of police officers and Party secretaries; an illegal migrant scrapes a living writing letters for the illiterate, but becomes so immersed in the lives of others that he loses a grip on his own; a heartbroken actress performs a public suicide.


About the Author

Ma Jian left Beijing for Hong Kong in the early eighties because he was unable to publish his work in China. After the hand-over of Hong Kong he moved to Germany and then London, where he has lived for four years, writing and publishing his acclaimed book Red Dust, winner of the 2002 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Noodle Maker
39% buy the item featured on this page:
The Noodle Maker 3.0 out of 5 stars (2)
Red Dust
26% buy
Red Dust 4.7 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.99
Beijing Coma
16% buy
Beijing Coma 4.4 out of 5 stars (7)
£6.83
Stick Out Your Tongue
12% buy
Stick Out Your Tongue 3.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£4.49

 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Too darkly humourous for me, 15 Jun 2007
By BookWorm "BookWorm" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Noodle Maker (Paperback)
An interesting book. I must admit, I probably wouldn't have realised it was supposed to be funny (even darkly so) had I not read the blurb on the back. I'm not a great fan of dark humour, and I found this particularly dark and, as I say, not really funny.

However, the writing is good and I suspect that those who like black humour would enjoy it more than I did. It paints a grim, bleak picture of life in China, but it is an interesting insight into a different culture. I felt I might have appreciated the story - and the humour - more if I had had a better knowledge of Chinese culture before reading.

Some of the chapters are pretty unpleasant so I wouldn't recommend it to those who are easily upset or queasy. It's not really a light or easy read, although the actual writing style is perfectly accessible - it's more the subject matter than made reading difficult. I would recommend it to those who like dark humour, or who have some knowledge or interest in Chinese culture and recent history.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars sour noodle, 26 Nov 2008
By Mr. Peter Raposo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Noodle Maker (Hardcover)
The Noodle Maker is cleverly written, it has a good story, great characters, but it is too bitter, sad, and it portraits life in China in a cruel way. Saying that, it is indeed a good book by a writer I presume will one day win the Nobel (check out Beijing Coma and Red Dust by same author).
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