The Attic: Memoir of a Chinese Landlord's Son [Hardcover]

Guanlong Cao (Author, Translator), Nancy Moskin (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 1996

Novelist Guanlong Cao's autobiographical account of growing up in urban Shanghai affords a rare glimpse into daily life during the forty turbulent years following the Communist Revolution. Forced to the bottom of Chinese society as "class enemies," Cao's family eked out a meager existence in a cramped attic. The details of their day-to-day existence--the endless quest for enough food, its preparation, Cao's schooling and friends, the stirrings of sexual desire, his dreams and fantasies--are brought brilliantly to life in spare yet evocative prose. The memoir illuminates a world largely unknown to Westerners, one where human pettiness, cruelty, joy, and tenderness play themselves out against a backdrop of political upheaval and material scarcity.
Reminiscent of the concise style of classical Chinese memoirs, Cao's lean, elegant prose heightens the emotional intensity of his story. Perceptive and humorous, his voice is deeply original. It is a voice that demands to be heard--for the historical moment it captures as well as for the personal revelations it distills.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this exquisite memoir, novelist Guanlong Cao sketches tales of growing up in Shanghai during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. Cao's lean elegant prose, reminiscent of classical Chinese memoirs, heightens the emotional intensity of his story as he grows from child to young man while political upheavals sweep across the background. Perceptive, humorous, and original, his voice demands to be heard -- for the historical moment it captures as well as the personal revelation it distills.

From Publishers Weekly

One of a generation of Chinese who grew up during Mao Tse-tung's cultural revolution, Cao contributes in this memoir to the growing volume of personal testaments to childhood and family life during those turbulent times. Cao captures both the ordinary and the extraordinary events and relationships in a life ruled by Mao's Little Red Book. In his case, his father, a former landlord, was branded a "class enemy" and his family of five assigned to live in a tiny attic where they all cooked, bathed and slept. For Cao, these were accepted conditions of life; he found pleasure in their aerie, wallowing in his mother's love and struggling to conform to society's expectations. The author-painter, sculptor, photographer and award-winning writer in today's China (Three Professors)-now lives in the U.S. This unadorned but artful account of his daily life as a schoolboy, his sister's experience in an agricultural camp, his father's demoralization and his mother's salutary strength all jolt the Western reader into a keen sense of the hardships and upheaval of those times.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1St Edition edition (April 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520204050
• ISBN-13: 978-0520204058
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,263,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent tale of survival and guilt in tough times, March 8, 2000

By 

Michael J Leahy (Santa Rosa, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Attic: Memoir of a Chinese Landlord's Son (Paperback)

This is a very well written tale of survival. It is filled with instances of humor and triumph. It depicts a Chinese culture and a cuisine that is not, as one of the previous reviewers stated, for the faint of heart. This story shows a person that is both proud to have survived and troubled by some of the things that he did to survive. I was fascinated by this story and I was grateful to have read it rather than to have lived it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shocking, Tragic, Funny - Truth is Stranger than Fiction, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Attic: Memoir of a Chinese Landlord's Son (Paperback)

This is my all-time favorite book. I've read it three times. I suggest it to everyone. I've found myself chuckling through descriptions told with humor, but in reality must have been very difficult situations. I've heard only one negative response to the very short chapter devoted to methods of killing and eating animals. It is very shocking. It is not gratuitous violence, it's China's very ancient way. The author did not imply that these methods were widespread by any means. The rest of the book is funny and sad and thoroughly enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another World, May 2, 2002

By 

Bishop Ellis (Spokane, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Attic: Memoir of a Chinese Landlord's Son (Paperback)

This book is captivating and full of flavor. Cao's writing style is very wonderful. When read The Attic, you gain access to a world that is not common to 20th or 21 century Americans. Cao describes his life of living in Shanghai China with very little materials but making the very best of it. The book is an excellent example of the human spirit overcoming the challenges of life. After you get into he book you just cant put it down. I would prescribe this book to anyone that would like to see into the life of mid 20th century China. Caution, this book has customs and parts of daily life that are very different from western custom. Please read with caution if you have a sensitive nature.