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Books matching: harsh socio economic conditions

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  1. #1

    Rice by Su Tong
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    Su Tong's novel Rice, translated effectively by Howard Goldblatt, is a riveting read with unforgettable scenes of cruelty. The author peoples the book with vivid characters caught in a struggle for survival within a family that is of the take-no-prisoners variety. The plot revolves around a poor country boy, Five Dragons, seeking his fortune in the big city and eventually being taken in by the wealthy Feng family who run a rice emporium. The narrative is layered with themes of hunger, power, and revenge, serving as a symbol for the turning point in Chinese history before the Communist takeover. The story unfolds in a bleak nest of vipers family saga in southern China during the early 20th century, where the characters are bitter, hate-filled, and cruel, leading to the self-destructive downfall of the Feng clan.

    In contrast, another reader found the representation of rice as an aphrodisiac and instrument of sexual torture to be fetishistic rather than cultural or historical. The book was critiqued for lacking a wider discussion on the topic, with a focus on one character's fixation on rice stuffing without much exploration of its deeper significance or motivations.


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