The odd thing about this book is that even though it's about western literature during the Chinese cultural revolution, it's almost devoid of any political commentary. It felt like that needed to be the backbone of this story to give it any meaning. Like my main takeaway here was some weird commentary on women? Am I totally mistaken, or was that the point? It left a sour taste in my mouth.

Beyond that, the characters were underdeveloped and the story itself was pretty nonexistent. The setting seemed to matter not at all, and it didn't feel very realistic, but that might be my ignorance talking. Dai actually spent several years being reeducated in the 70s, so he would be the expert here. I'm not sure how many creative liberties he took or if this story is pretty close to some of his experiences.

For all that this story is about the little seamstress, she is objectified from start to finish and has no agency. I kept waiting for their to be some kind of subversion, but there never was. I found it pretty unpleasant.

I don't know. This wasn't absolutely terrible, but it did nothing for me. My specific thoughts are all pretty negative, but it was fine I guess. I wouldn't really recommend it. It is translated, so perhaps it's better in the original French.