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    Three Sisters
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    Three Sisters
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    Three Sisters
    Ebook350 pages9 hours

    Three Sisters

    By Bi Fei

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    WINNER OF THE 2010 MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE From the petty treachery of the village to the slogans of the Cultural Revolution and the harried pace of city life, three sisters strive to change the course of their destinies in a China that does not truly belong to them. mi, the eldest, struggles to retain dignity as her ideal marriage falters. xiu relies on her talent for seduction. And, yang, the youngest, lays her hope in her own intelligence, securing the education that her sisters were denied. A breathtaking account of the challenges facing women in Communist China and of the bonds and ruptures of sisterhood. One of China's best contemporary novelists, Bi Fei has created an insightful portrait of China' -- Yin Li. 'A profound, illuminating novel' -- Nicole Mones. 'A thrilling family epic' -- Xiaolu Guo. 'A moving exploration of Chinese family and village life during the Cultural Revolution that moves seamlessly between the epic and the intimate, the heroic and the petty, illuminating not only individual lives but an entire society, within a gripping tale of familial conflict and love.' -- Judges of the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2011. 'Bi Fei's account of three sisters struggling to survive in the aftermath of China's Cultural Revolution is a complex moral tale that also illuminates the country's rise from sleeping tiger to global power' -- Independent. 'An unyielding critique of the emotional fallout of China's Cultural Revolution' -- Metro 'Genuinely moving … A stunning portrayal of women's lives in China' -- Socialist Review. 'This is a China that few Westerners know. Bi Fei makes it real and believable in this charming, surprising novel.' -- Washington Post. 'Bi's compelling and unsentimental book tackles myriad subjects, such as power and corruption, love and betrayal, civil duty and personal sacrifice, and conflict between the rural and urban worlds. It draws a meticulous picture of a transitioning village in '70s China, and in so doing, Bi has created memorable characters ... Masterful storytelling' -- San Francisco Chronicle. 'A spell-binding tale of love and hatred, defeat and victory, resignation and redemption' -- William Poy Lee
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTelegram Books
    Release dateFeb 13, 2012
    ISBN9781846591273
    Unavailable
    Three Sisters

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    Reviews for Three Sisters

    3.5/5

    31 ratings4 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Great narrative, very vivid description of the human nature and social constraints in China during the Cultural Revolution, but the ending somehow feels unfinished and not in tune with the rest of the book.
    • 3/5
      A struggle.This was a slow read - a really slow read! I found the writing style painfully awkward, possibly due to the translation, possibly due to the fact that this is a book written in a Chinese dialect for a Chinese audience. It just didn't seem to be going anywhere. Having said that, and having been to a book group to discuss the book, I now feel that, retrospectively, Three Sisters did have quite a lot to offer, I just needed help to interpret it.Yumi, Yuxiu and Yuyang are the three sisters; although there are seven sisters in all, the others warrant barely a mention.The narrative begins in 1971 with the birth of the first boy after 7 girls. Yumi, the eldest sister, has taken over the running of the home as her mother abandons all responsibility now that she has finally given birth to a boy.This first section illustrates the profound difference between the family protected by the father, Wang Lianfang, as Party Secretary and then, as they become nobodies, once he loses his position by taking his philandering too far. (It seems that messing with the wife of a soldier is unforgivable, while lesser wives are fair game).Yumi is a strong character and determined to let the women her father was sleeping with, know what she thought of them. In spite of her young age, these women shrink before her - until everything changes and Yumi must compromise and settle for a lesser future.The third sister, Yuxiu, is less well described. She is beautiful and knows it. But life completely changes for her too, with her father's fall from grace. She is manipulating and devious, but this is not enough. There are some interesting interactions between these two sisters, but neither are ultimately happy.The story of the youngest sister, Yuyang, takes place ten years later. She is very intelligent, studies hard, and has earned herself a place at teacher training college. Here she is encouraged to spy on her fellow students and is not in a position to refuse.This was a much weaker section. Yuyang didn't seem to be going anywhere, largely because her options as a country girl were severely limited. She is just another woman trying to take control of her own destiny, in spite of her low position in society and the other selfish students, all out to better themseles at others' expense.The book is made up of three rather disjointed narratives - there is little to tie the three stories together, particularly the last one - and then, with no warning, the book just stopped...
    • 3/5
      This book tells the stories of three sisters in a Chinese family of seven sisters and one brother. The story of Yumi, the eldest sister was great. She was such an interesting character who took a stand against her father's philandering. This section of the book brought in the family dynamics and really showed how the village worked which was hilarious. That section gets 5 stars. The second section was about the third sister, Yuxio, who after being gang raped, wants to escape the gossip of the village. This portion was not quite as complelling but still enjoyable and the family connection continued. Four stars for that one.The last section about the sister who went to teachers' school was like a completely different book. The family and other sisters was not referenced at all, but the part that bothered me most was that the book just stopped. By that I mean, it didn't 'end' it just stopped. I looked for the next page, the next paragraph but that was it. Totally abrupt. No tie in to the rest of the book. No hint of a wrap up. Like the author got interrupted in his writing and never came back. I was also a little confused how or why he picked these three sisters out of the seven to choose from and what about the brother. It didn't make sense to me that the other siblings were barely mentioned. Were these three sisters more interesting than the rest? Why even have the other sisters if you're just going to ignore them--just make the family have three sisters. In conclusion, I enjoyed the writing in the book and the individiual stories . . . I just didn't think they were put together right for a book. Either take out the third section or tie it in to the rest . . . and give us stories of all the siblings. But the main reason I gave this three stars was because of the infuriating ending . . . or I just say the infuriating lack of an ending.
    • 4/5
      This is really two separate books and it feels almost like two different authors. The setting for both are the Chinese countryside during the Maoist Return To The Land Movement in the early 1970s, when Communist Party functionaries held almost unlimited power in villages and schools. In the first story, a family with seven girls finally has a boy, and the two elder sisters have a running battle for power within the family and for the respect of the village residents. In the second, the youngest daughter studies hard enough to leave home and attend school, but, once again, the power struggles make her life difficult. It's a very intricate look at the habits and mores of what was considered to be the peasant class. There must be novels that address how this generation handled the enormous changes China has undergone over the last forty years.