Customer Reviews

The Girl Who Played Go: A Novel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

well it goes over quickly, but not painlessly. she spares you no descriptions. she lays all her pieces out on the table and the it ain't a pretty picture. this is back when Japan invades Manchuria. a japanese soldier acting as spy, goes down to a local Go playing park and plays against a young manchurian girl. supposedly through the playing of GO the come to know each other, though they never speak. the descriptions of Japanese treatment of the manchurians and the rebellion are heartbreaking and painful. this is not a happy story. but a powerful and original one.

I just finished reading "the girl who played go" by Shan Sa several hours ago. Honestly... the only reason the ending didn't make a tearful mess out of me is that I don't cry because of books/movies anymore. But if there's one book I've read that was worth that, it would be this one. I want to remember how I felt when I finished reading it... I'll try to keep this book close. I also feel it's way, way less popular than it deserves. It has everything - a cleverly creative style, powerful historical and cultural references (I feel more educated from reading this book, even a little), well-rounded realistic characters, romance, turns of events, things that make you want more... Like the Chinese/Japanese culture itself (or should I say my understanding of it), this book has the beauty of words and the calculated touch of emotions, only seldom interrupted by a strong show of what is beyond the actions. The ending is somewhat unexpected and definitely the superlative of everything in this book. Everything just becomes more and more powerful through start to end, and I would say this is more poetic than a lot of the poetry I have read (and I have read much). I feel the need to express just how much it has touched me and I can't do this book justice. I would strongly recommend it to anyone.

I found this book in a giveaway pile on the sidewalk, and didn't have high expectations when I opened the first page. I expected a story about - well, a girl who played Go. I don't play Go, and in fact, I had never heard of Go. A Girl Who Played Boggle: that would have intriqued me from the start. But Go? I wasn't sure I wanted to read a story about a briliant girl succeeding against all odds....particularly in a game I didn't understand.

My assumptions were completely wrong. From the first chapter I was drawn in, and found the characters compelling but never obvious. The Girl Who Played Go may be a love story, or it may be a coming of age story, or it could be a poignant illustration of a turbulent time in Chinese history. I'd describe it as a little of each, but learn from my mistkes: don't assume, even based upon reviews. Let the book stand on its own, and let go of any expectations before you start reading. The Girl Who Played Go is nothing that I expected: it is entirely different, and entirely beautiful.

One more word of praise -- I read a great number of books, and can spot formulaic plots or closure mechanisms a mile away. Not here: I was caught of guard often, and stunned more than once. There is something unsettling - and powerful - when a book provides a moment of true surprise. For me, those moments (if unforced) offer glimpses into the author, and her (or his) original voice.

On a more practical note, The Girl Who Played Go is a relatively fast read, and becomes increasingly engaging as you continue to read. The book isn't sunshine and daisies - there are some troubling moments, but no gratuitious ones. Personally, I'm thankful that I saved The Girl Who Played Go from the recycling truck, and would strongly recommend it to any reader.

As the Japanese army invades 1930's Manchuria, a young girl plays go with strangers in the park as a way to escape the confusion of growing up. Simultaneously, a young Japanese soldier is struggling to reconcile his desire to be an honorable soldier and son with his growing uneasiness with the Japanese campaign. When the Japanese are stationed in the girl's town, the two protagonists meet, and although they never talk other than to arrange go games, a relationship is formed.

The novel is written in the first person, with chapters alternating between the girl's perspective and the soldier's, and the language of the translation is crisp and quick. The plot is rooted in the history of the Japanese invasion and the racism between the Japanese and Chinese. It is the tension of this implicit racism combined with the growing awareness of the two characters for each other that I found most compelling about the book.

I was recommended by my Macroeconomics teacher, who holds a fascination for Asian history, to read The Girl Who Played Go. I was very surprised, as I didn't read the book's synopsis beforehand, to discover that this story (on a debatable level) is not about the game of go or at least, not consumed by it as the title suggested.

Essentially, this is a love story, a bringing together of two people from opposite sides of the spectrum. A Japanese soldier and a young girl in Manchuria cross paths through a game of go, and even amidst the Sino-Japanese war and pesonal problems, they, basically strangers to each other, manage to become each other's constants and saviors.

Shan Sa's descriptions are extraordinary - simple yet strong. This is a book that I feel if it did not hit you hard the first time, you must read it again to understand the layers of meaning and emotions.

It is an easy read, with short chapters and easy vocabulary, but that doesn't mean it should be underestimated in any way, because its simplicity is one of the keys to its success.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in any Asian history, or who just wants to read an unorthodox love story, or who would appreciate a nice, relaxing book.

This novel is perhaps the most sophisticated, sensual, tragic, uplifting, and horrifying examination of the experience of love that I have read. The complexity of emotions in the awakening womanhood of a teenaged Chinese girl at the onset of China's "War of Resistance" against Japan in the 1930s, as well as the poetic quality of the author's prose, at least in the original French version, make this a novel to remember and to reread. The tale of the heroine, Night Song (Chant de nuit), whose name appears only on the next to last page, is paralleled by that of the young Japanese army officer of samurai origin, whose uncritical acceptance of his nation's wartime imperialist outlook is put to the test when he must suddenly and unexpectedly choose between an act of terrible bestiality and one of transcending humanity.

I began reading this book believing it to be one thing (about a young Chinese girl who plays the ancient game of 'go') and then finding out it was something else entirely. The edition I have doesn't have a description on the back, just reviews of the book and I had honestly bought it knowing nothing about the author or book. It was at the bookstore, it sounded intriguing, so I bought it. I shelved it at some point and only recently brought it back out again.

The book is narrated by two people in alternating chapters--a young girl in Manchuria during the Japanese invasion of her country and the other is a young soldier in the invading army. The chapters are short--barely 3 pages in most cases--and written in a simply elegant way as to make me envy it. The novel reads almost like a poem at times, reminding me of the Japanese poetic verse of 'tanka' (Tanka are 31-syllable poems that have been the most popular form of poetry in Japan for at least 1300 years. As a form of poetry, tanka is older than haiku, and tanka poems evoke a moment or mark an occasion with concision and musicality.) but extended.

There is a brutal reality to both of their lives, rising tensions and political hostilities that can't be ignored. When they play though, when they are facing each other across the Go board and match wits and strategies, there is nothing else in world except the need to out-maneuver the other.

The book is translated into English, so there are occasional translator notes strewn throughout to explain why certain phrases/words were kept intact, but there are also historical annotations made when an event or person is mentioned. Especially when the soldier is narrating. Sometimes I appreciated them, but other times I was just annoyed because in the beginning some of the explanations take up a third of the page.

A reviewer commented that the romance between both is rather Romeo/Juliet like. I suppose if I had to describe it that would be accurate enough. Certainly there's the same sort of urgent secrecy to their love, but when one is dissatisfied with life and the other is doubting the very foundations of their life, it only seems logical they would be drawn together.