anaphabetic's review against another edition
3.0
No me ha apasionado nada este libro la verdad. Se lee bien, en ciertos puntos en interesante, pero me parece que en ciertos puntos se prolonga demasiado (sobretodo hacia el final) y encima en temas totalmente innecesarios. Por ejemplo, en el pasaje El Final hay un montón de ideas que se podrían haber expresado de una forma más sencilla y abreviada, y que creo que habrían quedado mucho mejor de esa manera.
Uno de las cosas que más me gustaron fue el principio, como habla de la familia Rong y las historias de las diferentes personas. Este en general un aspecto que me gusta y me atrae de todos los libros chinos o inspirados en china: la forma de tratar la familia y la historia familiar.
Uno de las cosas que más me gustaron fue el principio, como habla de la familia Rong y las historias de las diferentes personas. Este en general un aspecto que me gusta y me atrae de todos los libros chinos o inspirados en china: la forma de tratar la familia y la historia familiar.
cdeane61's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read, but i feel clueless as to what it was trying to say about anything, cryptography, China, relationships, genius, and more.
All these topics were on the table, but not in any way that I could decode (see what I did there?)
Not sure that I have ever felt I fully got all I could of a book translated from the Chinese, so maybe that's part of it.
Good enough to keep me reading.
All these topics were on the table, but not in any way that I could decode (see what I did there?)
Not sure that I have ever felt I fully got all I could of a book translated from the Chinese, so maybe that's part of it.
Good enough to keep me reading.
nomad_stone's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting book with a story that could very well believed as true for how real the characters are in their strangeness, but flawed by some rather slow moments at times given by the author's preference for a not-so-fluid kind of writing.
chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
2.0
Not great but good qualities were likely lost in translation.
margaretefg's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the historical sweep at the beginning of the novel, the whole family set up of how Rong Jinzhen came to be who and where he was, the politics of late 19th and early 20th century China. It gets more difficult as he becomes the main character because he is so distant and the top secret cryptography makes him even more distant, and then it seemed like it should be over for a long time before it actually ended. Reading it was a bit of a decoding process for me, I guess.
lilipls's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
andrew61's review against another edition
3.0
What a curious book ! I can't remember where I heard about it but it made for an interesting read although I have to confess by the end I was a bit at a loss as to what had happened.
The first part of the book had a conventional arc as we were introduced to a Chinese dynasty of mathematical geniuses. In late 19th century a member of the Rong family is sent abroad to learn in the US from a master how to learn to interpret dreams, the young man returns to set up a Mathematics university and the reader then learns the family tree that eventually leads to rong Zilai (Jinzhen), the illegitimate offspring of the black sheep of the family. Adopted by a European living in the family compound he is recruited in to the Cryptography part of The Chinese secret service. I enjoyed this narrative section with a host of fascinating characters such as the various ancestors ,the European Mr auslander, the secret agent who recruits Jinzhen 'Zhening the Gimp' , and the double agent maths professor Liseiwicz. The middle section however became very abstract with the exploration of how jinzhen cracks the cypher of opposing state X named PURPLE becomes feted in the regime before cracking under the strain of decoding Cypher BLACK. As I read this part I felt a little lost particularly as the finale becomes the narrator interviewing various individuals about Jinzhen's collapse, the craft of deciphering, and an analysis of his final notebook. Thus where the book in the first 100-150 pages was heading to five star I felt it lost it's way towards the end or perhaps I simply lost my way with it. Overall an interesting read but I won't be hurrying to read more even though this is one of the most popular Chinese authors.
The first part of the book had a conventional arc as we were introduced to a Chinese dynasty of mathematical geniuses. In late 19th century a member of the Rong family is sent abroad to learn in the US from a master how to learn to interpret dreams, the young man returns to set up a Mathematics university and the reader then learns the family tree that eventually leads to rong Zilai (Jinzhen), the illegitimate offspring of the black sheep of the family. Adopted by a European living in the family compound he is recruited in to the Cryptography part of The Chinese secret service. I enjoyed this narrative section with a host of fascinating characters such as the various ancestors ,the European Mr auslander, the secret agent who recruits Jinzhen 'Zhening the Gimp' , and the double agent maths professor Liseiwicz. The middle section however became very abstract with the exploration of how jinzhen cracks the cypher of opposing state X named PURPLE becomes feted in the regime before cracking under the strain of decoding Cypher BLACK. As I read this part I felt a little lost particularly as the finale becomes the narrator interviewing various individuals about Jinzhen's collapse, the craft of deciphering, and an analysis of his final notebook. Thus where the book in the first 100-150 pages was heading to five star I felt it lost it's way towards the end or perhaps I simply lost my way with it. Overall an interesting read but I won't be hurrying to read more even though this is one of the most popular Chinese authors.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent Chinese novel, it begins as a multigenerational saga about several generations of mathematicians in a N University in the provincial capital C City, but then goes on to focus on one of them--Rong Jinzhen, the son of "the Killer" (a bad offshoot of the family) and a strange woman. At a young age Jinzhen teaches himself arithmetic and then proceeds rapidly to become a rare genius who can solve his way through any math problem. He begins research with a Polish-born professor at N University but is then taken away to work at the highly secretive cryptography section of of Unit 701. When there he brilliantly cracks a code named "Purple" which was devised by his former Polish-born professor. Cracking Purple is described as a glorious historical achievement, but then their adversaries shift to "Black" which, together with an accidental event, ultimately breaks him and drives him mad.
The story is mostly told by a not fully omniscient narrator with extended passages reported as transcripts from interviews. In the final part of the book we get to hear directly from Jinzhen through one of his notebooks.
Not really an espionage story or a thriller or a love story, this book defies genres but provides a convincing depiction of genius and obsession and a window into slices of the last century in China. It also creates larger than life characters and displays a wide range of sympathies.
The story is mostly told by a not fully omniscient narrator with extended passages reported as transcripts from interviews. In the final part of the book we get to hear directly from Jinzhen through one of his notebooks.
Not really an espionage story or a thriller or a love story, this book defies genres but provides a convincing depiction of genius and obsession and a window into slices of the last century in China. It also creates larger than life characters and displays a wide range of sympathies.
marinazala's review against another edition
3.0
** Books 279 - 2015 **
This books to accomplish New Author Reading Challenge 2015
3,4 of 5 stars!
Review to be continued. XD
This books to accomplish New Author Reading Challenge 2015
3,4 of 5 stars!
Review to be continued. XD