Literature > Balzac and the Little Chinese Mistress by Sijie Dai

It’s not easy to pick a novel as a favorite, because I’ve read so many great books in my life. In this essay however I’m going to write about one that I’ve recently read. The book is called Balzac and the Little Chinese Mistress by Sijie Dai. The novel takes place in China during Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960-1970.

One of the reasons I’ve chosen this book to write about can be associated with what I’ve heard in last week in this class. When Professor asked the question who likes to read, and what, approximately 4-5 students said that they actually like to read. Hearing all this was very shocking to me, because I’ve been reading children stories, books, plays, poems since I was 6. I know that some people don’t like to read, but I couldn’t imagine that this many college students dislike books. The novel I’ve chosen here shows how important books are; and it also illustrates their capacity to alter lives completely.

The Balzac and the Little Chinese Mistress portrays two young boys, about 18-19 years old, who were sent to the mountains for reeducation. The boys were sons of ‘bourgeois’ doctors’; therefore they had to leave their homes to go to a remote village to live and work with the peasants for 4 years. The book opens with a scene where the village people examining the main character, the author’s violin. The fact that they’d never before seen anything like it shows how uncivilized they really were. The boys had a hard time adapting to the new circumstances. They had to carry heavy loads up to the mountains, or work in a dangerous coal mine.

Their lives changed a bit when they met with a beautiful girl, who was the daughter of the village tailor’s. Once, while the boys were at the tailor’s house, they told him the story of the Count of Monte Cristo. The tailor was completely taken by it, but more amazed was his daughter. They had never heard anything quite like it before. From that moment on the Little Seamstress didn’t want to talk about anything else besides books. I have to mention that the only book that was legal to read at that time in China, was Chairman Mao’s little Red Book. All other books were burned, or just simply banned. The two boys, coming from intellectual families, had the chance to read when they were children, just before Mao came to power. They still remembered all these stories, and were desperate to read others.

A further lucky turn in their fortune was that they met with another boy whom they’d known from their childhood. They visited him a couple of times, and became friends. Somehow, however, the two boys got a feeling that his hiding something from them. One time, when their friend wasn’t home, they sneak into his house and searched it. Sure enough, they discovered a huge suitcase under his bed. Their suspicion paid off. There were dozens of books hidden in the suitcase. The two boys asked the friend about it, but he denied everything. All they wanted from him is to borrow a couple of book, but he refused this favor. A few day later they heard the news that the friend was scheduled to leave the village and go home. The two boys panicked, and decided to steal the suitcase. Their motivations were different, but their goal common. Luo wanted to read to the Little Chinese Seamstress, while the author just simply wanted to read to make his own life a little more enjoyable in that isolated village.

When finally the suitcase was in their possession, they were ecstatic. They immediately started reading them; Luo for his girlfriend, and the author for himself. Luo taught the girl to read, and after a while she was reading for him. Luo’s mission was to educate the girl, and transform her into a sophisticated woman.

By the end of the story the reader can see that Luo succeeded with his mission. The little caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly. The Little Chinese Seamstress learned to read, learned to appreciate the wonders of literature. As a result of her enlightenment, she realized that the little village she’s lived all her life is not exciting enough for her. She wanted to see and learn more of the world. One morning she disappeared, and Luo didn’t understand why and how it happened; neither did her father. The author however realized that by educating the girl with the books they made her wonder about what else is waiting for her in life.

This book became one of my favorites, even though it was a reading assigned in my CompLit 1 class over the summer. I really enjoyed reading it, partly because it revealed a world that was unknown for me before, partly because it states clearly the power of literature. By the way this is a true story.