English: A Novel [Hardcover]

Wang Gang (Author), Martin Merz (Translator), Jane Weizhen Pan (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2009

A captivating coming-of-age novel in the tradition of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

During the darkest days of the Cultural Revolution, a twelve-year-old boy named Love Liu wonders what life is like beyond the region of Xinjiang in China’s remote northwest. Here, conformity is valued above all else, and suspicion governs every exchange among neighbors, classmates, and even friends. Into this stifling atmosphere comes a tall, clean-shaven teacher from Shanghai, with an elegant gray wool jacket and an English dictionary tucked under his arm.

With the dictionary at his disposal, Love Liu throws himself into learning English, and a whole new world opens up for him. But in an atmosphere of accusation and recrimination, one in which the teacher is deemed morally suspect and mere innuendo can cost someone his life, Love Liu’s ideals face a test more challenging than any he’ll meet in the classroom.

A major bestseller in China, with rights sold around the world, English is a transcendent novel about a boy’s self-discovery, a country’s shame, and the transporting power of language.

REVIEW: “I loved this book and can’t stop talking about it. . . . Transcendent.”
—Carolyn See, The Washington Post

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For 12-year-old Love Liu, foreign languages are a way of life: he lives in gossipy Xinjiang in far northwest China, where the sounds of Uyghur, Russian and Chinese mingle. But when Second Prize Wang, a dashing English teacher from Shanghai, arrives at his school, Love Liu wonders what use it would be to learn English. However, he's enamored of the confident and cosmopolitan teacher. Love Liu dives into his studies and soon befriends Second Prize Wang, and their unconventional friendship becomes one of the only constants in Love Liu's world as the Cultural Revolution wears away at the people of Xinjiang. Love Liu's friends are smacked with accusations, his school gets closed down for months at a time and his parents are alternately lauded and condemned. The more quotidian aspects of the novel can be repetitive—Love Liu cycles endlessly through the same handful of teenage tribulations—but the novel's larger portrait of Love Liu and Second Prize Wang's friendship emerges with touching clarity and provides a perfect counterbalance to the corruption and confusion of the Cultural Revolution. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

“You’ve got to treat children the same as you treat political reactionaries,” one parent states in this compelling coming-of-age novel set in the remote village of Urumchi during the Cultural Revolution in China and narrated by precocious 12-year-old Love Liu. Second Prize Wang arrives at Liu’s school to teach English and quickly attracts the suspicion and ire of the students’ parents when he starts giving private lessons to girls in his apartment. Love Liu is envious of the girls, eager to master the language himself and coveting his teacher’s English dictionary. Love Liu clings to his friendship with his teacher, even after his classmate and friend Sunrise Huang is pressured into falsely denouncing the man. Sunrise eventually recants, allowing Second Prize Wang to reclaim his job—until Love Liu himself leads his teacher astray over a beautiful woman they both long for. Based on his own experiences, Gang’s novel paints a vivid picture of what life was like during the Cultural Revolution, with paranoia, suspicion, and distrust informing every relationship, even the closest ones. --Kristine Huntley

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; 1 edition (April 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670020591
• ISBN-13: 978-0670020591
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,484 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming Coming-of-Age Story, April 2, 2009

By 

Glen L. Loveland (Beijing, China) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: English: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book is a wonderful gem, and we're so lucky that "English" has been translated into English! Perhaps even more importantly, we're fortunate that the translators did a superb job of the translation. Chinese to English translation is a daunting task for even the most talented linguists. What I appreciated is how the writer's were able to do it so eloquently and also create a real feeling of suspense in the book. Although not a mystery, the book has that page turner quality. I think you won't be able to put it down!

I generally only read non-fiction books about China. What steered me toward reading "English" was the fact that it was essentially the autobiography of its author, Wang Gang. It's a deep look at a young boy's experiences growing up in West China - an area that even most Chinese people don't really know enough about.

Love Liu's obsession with the English language and his bond with his teacher and classmates is poignant. The book will take you back to your own childhood when learning something new made it feel electric and almost dangerous.

Finally, "English" is an important book for China watchers because it's not the run of the mill "Cultural Revolution" tome. This book is about the experiences of a young boy who is growing up during that era and doesn't really understand what is happening around him. This ignorance creates a sense of what that experience must have been like for everyone - adult or child - who lived through it.

I attended a book talk that the author gave in Beijing, and he's very charming and humorous. He confirmed that each character in the book was a real person and that these experiences were each his own. I guess that's why this "novel" is so richly crafted.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant Page-turner, November 12, 2009

By 

J. Ta (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: English: A Novel (Hardcover)

I started and finished reading this novel within a day because the story really drew me in.

The setting of the novel, in Urumchi, (Western China) gave the novel a unique atmosphere that I found fascinating as it is not as popularized as major cities like Beijing.

While at times the plot was a bit predictable, I found it to be a charming coming-of-age story and an overall pleasant read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Do NOT read the Washington Post "book report" above!, October 12, 2009

By 

Dick Johnson (Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: English: A Novel (Hardcover)

If you have already done so, there is little of the book left to read! (I have asked Amazon to remove it.)

This is a well written (translated) addition to the list of Chinese authors revealing the China of several decades ago. The 'hook' is the study of English and the relationship between the teacher, students, parents and officials.

While there is nothing new here in terms of the terror of saying or doing the 'wrong' thing, the reality of the characters' lives draws the reader in. There are few characters to like and many to dislike; but some of each are like folks we know (and are?).

This is a very good introductory book for readers new to Chinese authors. It's well worth the time invested to read it.