Grab Life Documented By Lu Yao Viewable As Hardcover

fell like this book is constructed to support the lessons of life that Yao feels are no longer being taught in the China of his time.
This reminds me that these lessons on virtue are no longer being passed down to the next generation in our time in this country: honesty, hard work, that life has its ups and downs, and that we should be building for a better life for future generations, and that happiness is not found in the "things" we seek to acquire that we think will bring us happiness.


This book flows very well and is very readable, As I usually do with books that have names of characters that are not a familiar pattern, I write these names down on a strip of paper and note their spelling, their relationship to others in the story and their status.
This helps me to keep them straight,

I will share the passage at the end of the book where the older man shares his pep talk with Jialin, who can't get much lower in spirit.


"Grandfather Deshun used a patched sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes, "I heard you were coming back today so I came here to wait for you to tell you a few things.
You mustn't lose hope! You also mustn't look down at our little town, " He used a shriveled finger to point at the mountains and rivers and land around them, "This place it has taken care of us for generations, Without land, we'd have nothing! Nothing! And as long as we love labor, things will be OK, Besides, the party's laws are correct, and life continues to get better for us, The future looks good for our village you'll see! My boy, don't lose heart! A strapping young lad such as yourself shouldn't fear falling.
Just don't stop climbing, or else your really will be as dead as mutton, " p.

Grandfather, your words have helped me understand, I will remember them and they'll help me start a new life, By the river earlier, I ran into some other people and they spoke to me kindly as well.
But I'm worried that Gao Minglou's and Liu Liben's families will make trouble for me, "

"Aiya, don't worry! i just went to Minglou's house to see him about this exact issue.
Years ago, his father and I were sworn brothers, So I'm not afraid to give him advice, I got him to agree not to pester you anymore, Oh! And I forgot to tell you, At Minglou's, I saw Qiaozhen imploring him to go work his magic at the commune and let you keep teaching.
Tears were streaming down her face as she was her pleading, Minglou relented. "

The characters are very easy to understand as they have the same yearnings, talents and faults that are familiar to any set of humans.
The author weaves an interesting set of events that draws you in to story, has you empathizing with them and then drops in some philosophical advice as the events progress.
The foreshadowing was very heavy and you could hardly not see the consequence coming,

I obtained a copy of this book on World Day, an Amazon Crossing event that allows you to download several books that have been translated into English and have won awards in foreign countries.
I thank them for opening up the different viewpoints and styles for all to enjoy, I'm wrecked.

"She had thought about dying, But when she looked at the mountain valley she had lived and labored in for more than twenty years, when she looked at the earth and plants that she had kept green with her own sweat, those thoughts dissipated instantly.
She was reluctant to leave this world she loved the sun, loved the earth, loved work, loved the clear and bright Great Horse River, loved the grasses and wildflowers that grew on the riverbank.
. . She couldnt die! She should live! She wanted to work the land, There was something in the earth that could be found nowhere else",

This book is set in's China, but it's major plot could have easily been in Eastern Kentucky anytime between then and yesterday and it's giving me some serious flashbacks.
Sure, my upbringing didn't involve the communist agenda, but I know what is to be born poor, working class and how hard it is to leave a small town for a better life.
I relate to Julian so much it physically hurts me, even if some of his personal choices strike me a little cold.
A book like this is such a beautiful thing, allowing us to reach across time and culture to see that shared hope and pain.
Life follows a Chinese man who just recently lost his job and now he hast to figure out what to do with his life.
We follow him literally living life trying to find a new place to work a new ambition a new everything.
He thought he had his life figured out until that moment so its really just following his life.
How many times did I just say life LOL
I read this book for the ATYReading Challenge Week: No A, T, or Y in the title.


While reading this book, I was also reading sitelink The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, it was very interesting to see the overlap of these two different cultures in China and the effect of Communism on the people.
However, the idea that life is the same for all people is what I got out of the book.
There are struggles, joys, triumphs, disappointments, and hardships, What you do with how you live is THE important part of your life, of Liyan's life, and of Gao Jialin's life.
Gao Jialin's life is rather a roller coaster, How would you live your life, if you were in his shoes, I wonder 'Life' begins as a very interesting story set in Communist China as its characters struggle with modern vs traditional ideas of work and relationships.
The translation is very good and, for awhile at least, it's available for free if you trial Kindle Unlimited.
Unfortunately, the second half becomes a bit of Chinese soap opera and one loses interest fast, The most striking aspect to me is how 'unWestern' the Life's ending is, as most characters find themselves where they started instead of achieving their dreams.
Horatio Alger it is not, An essential masterwork from Chinese literary giant Lu Yaowinner of the Mao

Dun Literature Prizeavailable for the first time in English.


Lu Yao published only two novels before his untimely deathbut their extraordinary influence catapulted the author to the top tier of Chinese contemporary fiction, establishing him as one of the most widely read and respected figures in Chinese literature.


In this firstever translation of Lu Yaos Life, we meet Gao Jialin, a stubborn, idealistic, and ambitious young man from a small country village whose life is upended when corrupt local politics cost him his beloved job as a schoolteacher, prompting him to reject rural life and try to make it in the big city.
Against the vivid, gritty backdrop ofs China, Lu Yao traces the proud and passionate Gao Jialins difficult path to professional, romantic, and personal fulfillmentor at least hardwon acceptance.


With the emotional acuity and narrative mastery that secured his reputation as one of Chinas great novelists, Lu Yao paints a vivid, emotional, and unsparing portrait of contemporary Chinese life, seen through the eyes of a workingclass man who refuses to be broken.
The title of the book says it all,
The experience of life in several people living in early's China,
How life affects these peoples lives from the choices they make to just life experiences,
The culture was shown through the government, which was the Communist party at the time, Chinese culture and the new way of life.

To me it was an OK story but in the end it was very thought provoking, This was a very informative and interesting glimpse into the lives of young people living under the restrictions placed on them by the Communist Chinese government in the's.
While many of the challenges faced by the main character are unique to his culture and situation in life, there are many aspects of his struggle that are all too relatable.
Depression, discouragement, ambition, hope, loyalty, love, failure, pain, conflict and the eternal struggle to decide between what is right and what is easy.
I enjoyed this. If you like plots twisted with unrequited love, youll like this novella, Its a deep, wellwritten work which deals with the issue of abandoning ones roots in rural China to make it big in the city.
What holds the story back a little in my opinion is the authors habit of explaining thoughts instead of allowing the reader to read between the lines.
That being said, its not cliché, and its full of wisdom, especially towards the end, Echt thuis ben ik niet in de Chinese literatuur, maar dit boek heeft er me helaas niet verder warm voor gemaakt.
Het verhaal speelt zich af in landelijk China in het begin van de jaren tachtig, We volgen de lotgevallen van Jialin, een jongeman die op het platteland woont en voorbestemd is om een peasant te zijn, maar die grootsere dromen en ambities najaagt.
Blijkbaar wordt het boek vrij geprezen, maar ik miste diepgang, Het voelt meer als een parabel aan dan als een roman, De schrijfstijl is vrij eenvoudig, de personages vertonen weinig complexiteit en de dialogen voelen niet altijd even realistisch aan.
This was a beautiful and heartbreaking read, I'm sure I missed details Chinese readers will interpret or understand differently, nevertheless I enjoyed the deep dive into that small mountain village and the life of Gao Jialin.
Life by Lu Yao is a novel about the struggle to move from one societal class to another.
It is filled with lyrical prose that describes the scenery of rural China with such sweetness that you can feel the soil running through your fingers.


The characters are just as beautifully described, and it is easy to find yourself swept away into the time and place that was rurals China.
I fell in love with Qiaozhen, She was the true heroine and someone I admired deeply for her loyalty to both her land and her people.


It tackles many universal themes: financial and spiritual desire, what it means to be successful in work and in relationships, love of country and people, betrayal, societal expectations, economic hardships many themes that we all struggle with every single day.


There were moments I found it quite difficult to read, but it was so worth persevering.


netgalley life LuYao I once took a Chinese film class with selections that spanned the decades of theth century.
Some of the films were from the same time period in which this novel is set, While reading, I kept thinking this would make a great movie for that class,

Turns out, sitelinkthey did make a film in, and it won the sitelinkHundred Flowers Award, which is the Chinese equivalent of the Academy Awards.
This is Lu Yao's first translated work,
The author grew up in China and his writings reflect many of his own experiences, He writes about young people trying to change their lives amid the many outside influences society, government, family, class prejudices.
The writing is very simple and straightforward, and reminded me of how Pearl Buck wrote in The Good Earth.
Rather lovely, perhaps too simple,

The free ebook offered an accompanying free audible, but I preferred not to listen to it because the reader paused before all the Chinese surnames as if he was trying to sound them out.
It grew very annoying. “In a flash, things can change for the better, Yet while people may feel happy with their accomplishments, they may also feel a sense of loss at the suddenness of their success.
”

This book may not have touched my soul like others I have read so far in, but I found it.
. alright. I wanted to really love and appreciate this book, but it felt like it was lacking in some areas.


This may be due to translation, but the writing was very simple and phrases reused frequently.
People sobbed. Fell to the ground crying or buried their face and cried or let tear streak down their face a lot.
Then it moved on I wish there was more substance here and more explanation, better detail that really conveyed the emotions and thoughts of the characters.


I did enjoy the story, it reminded me a lot of a Chinese Romeo and Juliet, with cautions to young people thrown in at random times.
The story was alright, Im not mad I read it, but wasnt my favorite, ReadAroundTheWorld China

I enjoyed this story but thought that the central character was a bit of an ass.
I appreciate that he was educated and that social injustice caused him to lose his position which would make anyone angry but when he used that injustice to benefit himself I lost respect for him and the way he treated the women in his life was deplorable.


While I felt for him as a human being on a personal level I can't help feeling that he reaped what he sowed.


I liked the aspect of Chinese classical writing shown in this story the deviations into poetry especially.
.