books_andprobablysome_wine's review against another edition
5.0
Loved every story in this book! The last one was exceptional!!!
brettpet's review against another edition
4.0
Land of Big Numbers is one of the most riveting short story collections I've read in some time and will likely be one of my favorite books of 2021. The comparisons between this and Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies are accurate—both are full of intimate and unique stories on their respective cultures. I think Maladies is a stronger work overall, but Numbers possesses higher highs.
I am not exaggerating when I say that "New Fruit" is one of the best short stories I've ever read. I loved its ideas about shared cultural experiences intersecting with personal grief (as well as the way a government would intervene during such a breakthrough). "Field Notes On A Marriage" had me tearing up by the end of it with it's intimate description of falling head-over-heels in love and trying to mesh into your partner's different culture. The ending scene with is just heartbreaking. "Lulu" was another highpoint for me, describing the impact of authoritarian overreach on free speech, while the title story "Land of Big Numbers" perfectly encapsulated the gut wrenching reality of normal people investing in the stock exchange (Chen's writing on this nearly seems to prognosticate the Gamestop madness that took place during the month of the book's release).
While the first half of Numbers boasted excellent story after excellent story (driving me to binge read most of it in one sitting), there are a couple duds in the second half. "On the Street Where You Live" was confusing and clunky to read—like it was a puzzle piece in the wrong box. "Beautiful Country" doesn't have much of a payoff despite it's emotional foundation, and "Gubeiko Spirit" (which has the most interesting Twilight Zone-like setup out of all the stories here) starts off strong but ends anticlimactically.
I really enjoyed the majority of stories here and can't wait to reread this. And this is just Te-Ping Chen's debut novel?? I can't wait to see what she does with fiction in a longer format.
I am not exaggerating when I say that "New Fruit" is one of the best short stories I've ever read. I loved its ideas about shared cultural experiences intersecting with personal grief (as well as the way a government would intervene during such a breakthrough). "Field Notes On A Marriage" had me tearing up by the end of it with it's intimate description of falling head-over-heels in love and trying to mesh into your partner's different culture. The ending scene with
Spoiler
the widow revisiting her husband's family and finding out she doesn't have anything in common with themWhile the first half of Numbers boasted excellent story after excellent story (driving me to binge read most of it in one sitting), there are a couple duds in the second half. "On the Street Where You Live" was confusing and clunky to read—like it was a puzzle piece in the wrong box. "Beautiful Country" doesn't have much of a payoff despite it's emotional foundation, and "Gubeiko Spirit" (which has the most interesting Twilight Zone-like setup out of all the stories here) starts off strong but ends anticlimactically.
I really enjoyed the majority of stories here and can't wait to reread this. And this is just Te-Ping Chen's debut novel?? I can't wait to see what she does with fiction in a longer format.
eelizard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Classism, Colonisation, Violence, and Xenophobia
mollyq18's review against another edition
4.0
the word “haunting” was used to describe this book in 2 of the reviews on the first page and I couldn’t agree more with that characterization.
these vignette-style / short stories painted a picture of China: life in remote villages, Chinese people living in the US, love, work, life in bustling big cities. the magical realism of a haunted fruit, the dystopian-seeming story of being trapped on a train platform for 2 months.
each vignette was so unique and different from the next. I didn’t know when I picked up this book it would be a collection of short stories. I don’t usually read short story collections, but found this one particularly engaging because each story was by the same author and gave a different angle and lens into either what life could look like or a metaphor to what life is like in China.
I really enjoyed getting to know each character and their life. I felt like each story was the perfect length and gave me just enough insight, while also of course leaving me wanting more.
my one critique, and this probably comes from my lack of experience reading short story collections, is that the pace of the book overall was very slow. as soon as I got invested in a story, it was over. which made my reading feel disjointed and very stop/start.
overall I really enjoyed this book and found it interesting, insightful, beautifully told, and again- haunting. (also- incredible cover art! I want it as a poster for my room!)
these vignette-style / short stories painted a picture of China: life in remote villages, Chinese people living in the US, love, work, life in bustling big cities. the magical realism of a haunted fruit, the dystopian-seeming story of being trapped on a train platform for 2 months.
each vignette was so unique and different from the next. I didn’t know when I picked up this book it would be a collection of short stories. I don’t usually read short story collections, but found this one particularly engaging because each story was by the same author and gave a different angle and lens into either what life could look like or a metaphor to what life is like in China.
I really enjoyed getting to know each character and their life. I felt like each story was the perfect length and gave me just enough insight, while also of course leaving me wanting more.
my one critique, and this probably comes from my lack of experience reading short story collections, is that the pace of the book overall was very slow. as soon as I got invested in a story, it was over. which made my reading feel disjointed and very stop/start.
overall I really enjoyed this book and found it interesting, insightful, beautifully told, and again- haunting. (also- incredible cover art! I want it as a poster for my room!)
beardedbarista's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful! Great story collection that hits all the feels and has a story for almost every genre. From horror to happy to buisness to love to dystopia.
I got this book early from HMH books/Mariner and glad to be one of the firsts to review it!
This is a must have story collection and you should pick it up February 2nd and talk to me about it!! My favorite story was Gubeikou Spirit and followed close by On the Street Where You Live. Te-Ping Chen is going to have some space on my shelf for her future books for sure!
I got this book early from HMH books/Mariner and glad to be one of the firsts to review it!
This is a must have story collection and you should pick it up February 2nd and talk to me about it!! My favorite story was Gubeikou Spirit and followed close by On the Street Where You Live. Te-Ping Chen is going to have some space on my shelf for her future books for sure!
muhti's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
ameliasbooks's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Good writing, interesting insights into modern China. Some unnecessary descriptions of female bodies not necessarily connected to the characteristics of certain protagonists.
Without this, I think I would have rated it a bit higher.
Without this, I think I would have rated it a bit higher.
logancoxx's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed these short stories. They were varied and interesting and thought provoking. but they all had a feeling of melancholy… or something similar.