Customer Reviews

The Attic: Memoir of a Chinese Landlord's Son

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is a great book. Although there are some graphic descriptions of some foods, the book is well-written, absorbing. One of those good, rainy day, sitting in front of the fireplace, read-at- one-sitting books.

In reading Cao's memoir I admired him and his family, yet at the same time did not come to feel close to them until near the end. When he told of his sister's assignment to the countryside and the desperate measures taken to bring her back to Shanghai, then I began to experience a sense of anguish, along with him. In the early parts of the book I felt a distance from the family: I did not get a sense of the fear that must have gripped the family as they sought refuge in Shanghai,and their subsequent relief, despite their--to an American--very harsh circumstances. For five people to bathe, cook, sleep, work in an attic is beyond our grasp. As the author described his dispairing and brave sister, his parents experiencing the effects of age, a quarrel over good fortune, the memoir at last came alive to me. I appreciated the author's sharing his memories; still, for most of the book, I remained an observer. I can't say exactly why.

The other reviews mention the graphic, nauseating chapter on unusual eating practices in China - things so horrifying to a Westerner that I won't even attempt to describe them.

The reviews leave out the human atrocities in the book, and there are plenty. What this author's sister is forced to do to her hand to survive chills my blood and depresses me, even now, months after my initial reading.

Overall, this is not a novel for the faint of heart - I can't express this enough!

The chapter on animal abuse (I can't call it anything but) is the most revolting thing I have ever read, so BEWARE! If you are a vegetarian, don't even ATTEMPT this book.

Aside from the dark content, I just did not find this book pleasing; the author is a selfish creep who abuses his family. I suppose the reader is supposed to write this off as cruel youth, but the entire book leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

If you want to read something both lyrical and informative about China, try Falling Leaves, or Red Scarf Girl, or Bound Feet, Western Dress. Any of those memoirs would be an excellent read. Red China Blues is also a fascinating book, though written by a Westerner. Don't bother with this book unless you want to be nauseated by the cold writing and the graphic descriptions of animal torture.

without warning, the author lauches ito a detailed a d horrible accou t of how to torture, kill a d eat all sorts of a imals, both dead a d alive. A sick example of gratuitous viole ce.

without warning, the author launches into a detailed, hideous account of how to torture, kill and eat all manner of animal, both alive and dead. A horrible example of gratuitous violence.