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The King of Trees : Three Novellas: The King of Trees, The King of Chess, The King of Children

Bonnie S. MacDougall, Ah Cheng

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The King of Trees : Three Novellas: The King of Trees, The King of Chess, The King of Children

by Bonnie S. MacDougall, Ah Cheng
The King of Trees : Three Novellas: The King of Trees, The King of Chess, The King of Children - Thryft
The King of Trees : Three Novellas: The King of Trees, The King of Chess, The King of Children - Thryft

Poetic portrayal of friendship and resilience during Cultural Revolution.

Recommendation: - This book is a captivating and poetic portrayal of friendship and resilience during the Cultural Revolution in China. It beautifully combines traditional and vernacular elements, offering a unique perspective on this tumultuous period. The novellas explore the passions and noble emotions that arise in the face of adversity, leaving a profound impact on the reader's heart. If you are interested in delving into the complexities of human connections and the power of personal pursuits, "The King of Trees" is a must-read.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

The King of Trees : Three Novellas: The King of Trees, The King of Chess, The King of Children

by Bonnie S. MacDougall, Ah Cheng
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

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ISBN: 9780811218665
Authors: Bonnie S. MacDougall, Ah Cheng
Publisher: New Directions
Date of Publication: 2010-06-29
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Related Topics: Classics, Asia, Literature
Goodreads rating: 4.03
(rated by 603 readers)

Description

Three classic novellas― The King of Trees , The King of Chess , The King of Childre n―that completely altered the landscape of contemporary Chinese fiction. When the three novellas in The King of Trees were published separately in China in the 1980s, “Ah Cheng fever” spread across the country. Never before had a fiction writer dealt with the Cultural Revolution in such Daoist-Confucian terms, discarding Mao-speak, and mixing both traditional and vernacular elements with an aesthetic that emphasized not the hardships and miseries of those years, but the joys of close, meaningful friendships. In The King of Chess , a student’s obsession with finding worthy chess opponents symbolizes his pursuit of the dao; in The King of Children ―made into an award-winning film by Chen Kaige, the director of Farewell My Concubine― an educated youth is sent to teach at an impoverished village school where one boy’s devotion to learning is so great he is ready to spend 500 days copying his teacher’s dictionary; and in the title novella a peasant’s innate connection to a giant primeval tree takes a tragic turn when a group of educated youth arrive to clear the mountain forest. The King of Trees is a masterpiece of world literature, full of passion and noble emotions that stir the inner chambers of the heart.
 

Poetic portrayal of friendship and resilience during Cultural Revolution.

Recommendation: - This book is a captivating and poetic portrayal of friendship and resilience during the Cultural Revolution in China. It beautifully combines traditional and vernacular elements, offering a unique perspective on this tumultuous period. The novellas explore the passions and noble emotions that arise in the face of adversity, leaving a profound impact on the reader's heart. If you are interested in delving into the complexities of human connections and the power of personal pursuits, "The King of Trees" is a must-read.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

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