The Girl Who Played Go: A Novel [Paperback]

Shan Sa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2004

As the Japanese military invades 1930s Manchuria, a young girl approaches her own sexual coming of age. Drawn into a complex triangle with two boys, she distracts herself from the onslaught of adulthood by playing the game of go with strangers in a public square--and yet the force of desire, like the occupation, proves inevitable. Unbeknownst to the girl who plays go, her most worthy and frequent opponent is a Japanese soldier in disguise. Captivated by her beauty as much as by her bold, unpredictable approach to the strategy game, the soldier finds his loyalties challenged. Is there room on the path to war for that most revolutionary of acts: falling in love?

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Breathtaking. . . . While exploring epic themes like the loss of innocence and the meaning of honor, it lingers on the tiny, exquisite details of life.” --Vogue

“Shan . . . writes spare prose adorned with images that linger in the mind. . . . In this elegant translation . . . the dreamlike, mesmerizing alternation of voices stands in uneasy contrsast to the operatic violence of the plot.” --The New York Times Book Review

“Powerfully drawn. . . heart-breaking. . . . Sa’s descriptions and metaphors take hold powerfully and linger. Sa also brings to the reader with stark precision the cruel loss of innocence that war brings to both sides.”–San Antonio Express-News
“This Chinese twist on Romeo and Juliet. . . evolves into a rich metaphor for the struggle between an ancient society and a modern one, and the battle between the easy innocence of adolescence and the painfully gained knowledge of adulthood. If you enjoyed the similar theme of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, you’ll like this.”–People

“Explosive. . . . Poignant and shattering. . . . While [the] climax is inevitable and the stories lead directly toward it, a reader is still shocked and horrified when it occurs.” —The Boston Globe

“Shan Sa creates a sense of foreboding that binds the parallel tales of her protagonists. Her measured prose amplifies the isolation amid turmoil that each character seems to inhabit.” --San Francisco Chronicle

“Dreamy . . . powerful. . . . This unlikely love story . . . is beautiful, shocking, and sad.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“Compelling. . . . Emotionally charged chapters evoke the stop-and-start rhythms of adolescence. . . . Shan handles the intersection of the personal and the political quite deftly.” --The Washington Post Book World

“What makes Sa’s novel so satisfying is the deceptive simplicity of her narrative strategy.” —San Jose Mercury News

“An awesome read. . . . Shan Sa describes the story so well that you almost forget you’ve never visited the places in her book. . . . This book is truly for every reader.” —The Decatur Daily

“Entrancing. . . . [With] an ending that you won’t predict.” —The Austin American-Statesman

"It has the sweep of war and the intimacy of a love story. . . . Shan Sa is a phenomenon." --The Observer (London)

"Spellbinding. . . . Sa's language is graceful and trance-like: her fights are a whirling choreography of flying limbs and snow, her emotions richly yet precisely expressed.” —The Times (London)

"One is struck by the economy of the tale, its speed, and the brutality of its calculations. There is never an excess word or a superfluous phrase: each paragraph counts. . . . Fine literary work."--Le Figaro Magazine (France)

"An astonishing book. . . . Ends up taking one's breath away. . . . Goes straight to our hearts." --Le Point (France)

“Gripping. . . . A wrenching love story. . . . [The protagonists’] shared sense of immediacy and the transience of life is what in the final analysis makes this novel so strong, so intelligent, so moving. . . . . . . You’ll have to look far and wide to find a better new novel on an East Asian subject than this finely crafted story, satisfying as it is on so many different levels.” —The Taipei Times

From the Inside Flap

As the Japanese military invades 1930s Manchuria, a young girl approaches her own sexual coming of age. Drawn into a complex triangle with two boys, she distracts herself from the onslaught of adulthood by playing the game of go with strangers in a public square--and yet the force of desire, like the occupation, proves inevitable. Unbeknownst to the girl who plays go, her most worthy and frequent opponent is a Japanese soldier in disguise. Captivated by her beauty as much as by her bold, unpredictable approach to the strategy game, the soldier finds his loyalties challenged. Is there room on the path to war for that most revolutionary of acts: falling in love?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (October 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400032288
• ISBN-13: 978-1400032280
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #337,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Japanese/Chinese History as seen through the eyes of the participants., March 3, 2006

By 

Thomas C. Tufts "MA Candidate in Asia Pacific... (Cleveland, OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girl Who Played Go: A Novel (Paperback)

This is an outstanding novel of the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in the early 1930s, through the eyes of a high school aged Manchurian girl (The Girl Who Played Go) and a Japanese officer (whom she played Go with, not knowing that he was a Japanese officer stationed in Manchuria}. The officer was involved in actual missions against insurgents from time to time. The story is interesting from a factual historical point of view, even from the mindset that led to the estblishment of the "Comfort Women" as an officially sanctioned Japanese policy. The historical aspect is enlightened by the complex human relationships of the two main protagonists. The novel brings to light the personal contradictions of the two also;their human relations; the national pride of each; the loneliness of their circumstances; and finally the heroic actions of each that ends in mutual tragedy. The story reminded me to a degree of the story of Romeo and Juliette; though they never professed love for one another verbally, their actions implied that affection between them was possible.

I would definitely recommend it as a must read. The style is also intriguing as the two and three page chapters switch back and forth among the protagonists, both in real time and in flashbacks of times past that were happier and led to the developed personalities of the present.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Love, December 23, 2005

By 

Spy Groove "Ravenna" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girl Who Played Go: A Novel (Paperback)

It is a new kind of story for me. Not exactly like Romeo & Juliet or SamPho EngTay, the degree of love between the Japanese soldier and the Chinese girl had reached beyond physical barrier even before the inevitable circumstances took over. There were only minor, polite contact between them, and yet, they knew each other's soul.

It is amazing how by playing go, you'll get to know your opposite's nature which oneself doesn't always do. So is in the war. The setting of Japanese invasion into China in 1930's is frequently compared to the strategies played in go. Although I know nothing about go, I think I could take in the messages conveyed well. This is not a book of how to play go. This is the book of the soul of the players and the soul of people.

Mind you that this is not a simple falling in love kind of a story, it is more complicated. The girl and the soldier each had their own (many) lovers with the Japanese soldier acting like other soldiers at that time by visiting prostitutes. Each has their own faults and weakness. Their mutual love of go had nourished further attachment along the way, unnoticed by each.

The words are beautifully composed, added with some ancient poetry from China and Japan. I must say the anonymous element between the soul lovers gives a dreamy, mysterious touch to the story without sacrificing the characters around them. With selective dialogs, Ms. Sa has managed to give us a well crafted tale about love, life and death. Highly recommended.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous., October 8, 2005

By 

Batya S.E. "La Batya'la" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girl Who Played Go: A Novel (Paperback)

I found this book sandwiched between Vogue and Cosmo while I was getting my nails manicured in Georgetown. What an beautiful discovery in a most unlikely setting! I left a large tip and took the book with me.

Shan Sa's short novel explores love through characters who defy politics, gender roles, and even traditional love stories. Many books written about Manchuria during the time of japanese expansionism seek to reveal the tragedy of the times by villifying the japanese invaders or victimizing the chinese invadees. This book does neither; rather it portrays the pain and desperation of humans trying to be human in an inhuman setting of war and nationalism.

I imagine that Sa's book is breathtaking in its French original, but even as a translation I thought it was delicate and poetic.