Comments on: Binu and the Great Wall

By: melody

melody — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:04:56 +0000

It was a deep determination for Binu to find her husband Quilang because of unconditional love for him. I think she do all of her trials and hardships just to find her beloved husband at all cost. I’m really wanted to read this novel by Su Tong and his other novels…..

By: Bruce Humes » Blog Archive » King Gesar: Tibetan Epic in Modern Chinese Prose

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:31:05 +0000

[...] take on Penelope of The Odyssey), Baba Yaga Laid an Egg (Baba Yaga as per Dubravka Ugresic), and Binu and the Great Wall (by China’s Su [...]

By: Spencer

Spencer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:21:40 +0000

This was the hardest book in this series for me so far. The culture is so different from my point of view that i found it very difficult to understand the motives of anyone more than half the time. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I did. It was very challenging for me and it gave me an opportunity to reflect on the differences. This book is filled with beauty and brutality and endurance. I’d recommend it if you want a challenge!

By: CITIBELLE

CITIBELLE — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:12:16 +0000

I am new to chinese mythology and found this book harsh and disturbing at times. But predudice
can find many outlets and where better is it portrayed than in a countrys mythology and even fairytales. I wont easily forget this fable or the book. I found it fascinating but not comfortable reading.

By: Cassiopaeia

Cassiopaeia — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:14:28 +0000

What a weird and wonderful story. I am not usually a reader of mythology but those that I am familiar with are usually stories of superhuman feats and achievements of which no mortal would be capable. Although Binu’s mammoth journey in search of her husband Qiliang is indeed an amazing feat, for me it was all the extraordinary happenings, meetings and confrontations along the way that made this such an intriguing read. The earthy descriptions were also unexpected for this type of tale. The narrative describes much of what befell Binu on her journey through the prefectures of China to Great Swallow Mountain and eventually to the Great Wall; nothing about her journey is straightforward. Some of the detail in the opening of the story was unclear although this made little difference to the overall story, I found myself re-reading the beginning several times in order to clarify certain aspects. As to Binu herself, to start with I found her strange and mystifying but as her travels progressed I became more and more involved in her unreal predicament and almost felt I was on the road with her. A very unusual and enjoyable read, one that I would not normally gravitate towards, thank you canongatebooks for yet another good read.

To me the translation of the Preface was awkward and didn’t sufficiently manage to convey the author’s thoughts. It appeared to be too literal and much was lost in this short piece.

By: Sheepette

Sheepette — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:04:52 +0000

I hate to admit it but I struggled with this book and the worst part about it is I don’t know why.

That said it was a good book of one woman’s love and determination to find her husband at whatever cost to herself.

Binu meets a colourful array of characters, all are very unsympathetic to her plight, except the frog, who leaves her about half way through and reappears again in her time of need. I think all the characters she meets are unsympathetic because they are trying to look after themselves.

When Binu got to 5 grain city, the book for me got more interesting.

I found Binu could be a hypocrite at times. She complains that no-one will help her, but when help comes along, she is reluctant to take it and almost rude with it.

I was also wondering about the myth behind this book, It must have been passed on through time, but I was wondering who told it to who and how long they had to spare when telling it.

By: Ophelia Phillips

Ophelia Phillips — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:58:53 +0000

Wow. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but I did really enjoy it, and the images in the story were at times really beautiful. I had thought someone, because the words fairystory were used on the cover, that it would be more innocent; and also that the frog would have a much different role to play. The story style is grittier and more down to earth than I’d expected – people have rough lives, bodily functions aren’t neatly avoided, and no happy endings are guaranteed. It some ways it’s very ‘realistic’ – an old man tells Binu at one point “Who told you to marry an honest man? Things don’t turn out well for honest men.” Quite different to a lot of our western fairystories. In part it even seems to break down the idea of myths. Binu grows up in Peach Village, where the ‘Rulebook for Daughters’ tells them that they mustn’t cry through their eyes, or else they’ll die – an idea that developed locally after a massacre of locals who were mourning and crying. So when Binu starts crying through her eyes, she thinks her death is imminent and gets a lad to prepare her grave. And yet she doesn’t die, which makes the boy angry.

But at the same time, it’s not completely realistic – women can cry through their toes and hair, and tears gush like rivers from Binu, so it’s definitely in myth territory. From the introduction, I understand that this is an old myth in China, but Su Tong has written it up again. So it’s a modern rendition, but the style still makes it feel like an old tale. And from a historical point of view it’s interesting to experience a little of life in China then – the massive waste of human life building the great wall, the way people were treated, the lords and kings and assasins…

I like the cover design as well on a random side note!!!