Chronicle of a Blood Merchant
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
From the acclaimed author of Brothers and China in Ten Words: here is Yu Hua’s unflinching portrait of life under Chairman Mao. A cart-pusher in a silk mill, Xu Sanguan augments his meager salary with regular visits to the local blood chief. His visits become lethally frequent as he struggles to provide for his wife and three sons at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Shattered to discover that his favorite son was actually born of a liaison between his wife and a neighbor, he suffers his greatest indignity, while his wife is publicly scorned as a prostitute. Although the poverty and betrayals of Mao’s regime have drained him, Xu Sanguan ultimately finds strength in the blood ties of his family. With rare emotional intensity, grippingly raw descriptions of place and time, and clear-eyed compassion, Yu Hua gives us a stunning tapestry of human life in the grave particulars of one man’s days.
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Meh. Lots I didn't like about this one, even taking into consideration that this is a period piece and considered a classic in China. Some parts made me smile a little, but overall disappointed and a little annoyed at what I read. Pass this one up if you don't want to read a repetitive plot about a guy who gets into a sitcom-esque loveless relationship and has to sell his blood to solve, well, just about every problem, or if you don't want to read about the main character telling his sons to rape the daughters of the man his wife is sleeping with, or if you don't want to read about the constant digs against the main character's girlfriend's weight problem. I wish I did.
