This is the tale of Lotus and three other concubines who are competing for the sexual attentions of their master in a 1930s rural clan house. Lotus, the fourth mistress, is defiant and presumptuous and has the audacity to be good at, and enjoy sex.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Su Tong was born in Suzhou in 1963 and graduated from Beijing Normal University with a degree in Chinese literature. He is the author of Raise the Red Lantern, also available from Perennial. Su Tong lives in Nanjing.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing and suspenseful,
By
This review is from: Raise the Red Lantern: Three Novellas (Paperback)
I thoroughly enjoyed "Raise the Red Lantern", more so than the other two novellas. As an occidental 30-something I realize I am not qualified to judge the accuracy of the story, but I found it highly entertaining. I also liked the film version. The novella differs in creating a degree of emotion, suspense, and creepiness that the film lacks. The film is worth seeing for the setting and costumes alone.
Set in China of the 1920's or 30's the protagonist is a young woman who, due to her father's death, can no longer afford to study at the unversity. With few options available she becomes the 4th wife/concubine of a wealthy man who is plenty old enough to be her father. The "wives"/mistresses each have their own small apartment in his traditional Chinese compound. What she finds a life of boredom interrupted by plots among the other mistresses, and the slighted maid who wanted to be the 4th mistress, to eliminate each other and win favor with their benefactor. They all want to spend intimate time with the old geezer in order to conceive a son, the only way to ascend this surreal hierarchy. The protagonist manages to thwart numerous plots against her and sets out to discover the mystery of the previous 4th mistress. In the process she descends to a level of cruel that she previously disdained in the other mistresses. As with most Chinese stories, don't expect a happy ending.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating experience for those willing to take it,
By BilMcReader (Mapleton, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Raise the Red Lantern: Three Novellas (Paperback)
The first of the three novellas is more accessible and conventional than the other two, but it may not be the best. All three are rich and textured with layers of meaning of those willing to spend the time with them. As with all translations, I wonder what there was in the original that I am missing by reading the story second hand. I get the sense that this is a careful translation. (Someone will probably tell me I am way off on that judgment.) If you are willing to venture into a different culture, I think you will be rewarded by reading these three novellas.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
:),
By M "CultOfStrawberry" (I wait behind the wall, gnawing away at your reality) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)
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This review is from: Raise the Red Lantern: Three Novellas (Paperback)
I enjoyed all three stories in here. It was a new experience to read Su Tong's work because his writing style and narration was different from most other authors that I have read. I also saw the movie with the same name, and it was interesting to note the differences between the story and the film. All in all, a good read.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
When Fourth Mistress, Lotus, was carried into the Chen family garden, she was nineteen; she was carried into the garden through the back gate on the west side at dusk, by four rustic sedan bearers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
yellow mud road, bamboo goods shop, bamboo craftsmen, little blind man, wisteria leaf, pickled cabbage soup, black brick building, bamboo craftsman, blue cheongsam, platinum keys, red palanquin, steamed roll, bamboo knife, little upstairs room, dog manure, opium powder, salt boat, north compound, opium plant, eating opium, rubber overshoes, opium fields, big crock, big compound, brass trumpet Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Chen Mao, Chen Zuoqian, Chen Baonian, Liu Laoxia, Chen Wenzhi, Jade Flower, Liu Suzi, Mama Song, Old Master, Straw Pavilion, Jiang Long, Liu Chencao, Fourth Mistress, Liu Laoxin, Chen's Bamboo Goods Store, Pool of Corpses, Chen Yujin, Chen Ermao, Third Mistress, Firebull Ridge, Firewood Hill, Eldest Young Master, First Mistress, Jiang Tiangong, Second Mistress New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When Fourth Mistress, Lotus, was carried into the Chen family garden, she was nineteen; she was carried into the garden through the back gate on the west side at dusk, by four rustic sedan bearers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
yellow mud road, bamboo goods shop, bamboo craftsmen, little blind man, wisteria leaf, pickled cabbage soup, black brick building, bamboo craftsman, blue cheongsam, platinum keys, red palanquin, steamed roll, bamboo knife, little upstairs room, dog manure, opium powder, salt boat, north compound, opium plant, eating opium, rubber overshoes, opium fields, big crock, big compound, brass trumpet Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Chen Mao, Chen Zuoqian, Chen Baonian, Liu Laoxia, Chen Wenzhi, Jade Flower, Liu Suzi, Mama Song, Old Master, Straw Pavilion, Jiang Long, Liu Chencao, Fourth Mistress, Liu Laoxin, Chen's Bamboo Goods Store, Pool of Corpses, Chen Yujin, Chen Ermao, Third Mistress, Firebull Ridge, Firewood Hill, Eldest Young Master, First Mistress, Jiang Tiangong, Second Mistress New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
32
books
cite this book:
See all 32 books citing this book
- Worlds of Modern Chinese Fiction: Short Stories and Novellas from the People's Republic, Taiwan and Hong Kong by Michael S. Duke in Front Matter
- The Iron House: A Memoir of the Chinese Democracy Movement and the Tiananmen Massacre by Michael S. Duke in Front Matter
- China's New Cultural Scene: A Handbook of Changes by Claire Huot on 5 pages
- Zhang Yimou: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) by Frances Gateward in Front Matter, page 9, and page 48
- Chinese Modern: The Heroic and the Quotidian (Post-Contemporary Interventions) by Xiaobing Tang on page 204, page 225, and Back Matter
- Rice: A Novel by Su Tong in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Reel Food: Essays on Food and Film by Anne L. Bower on page 129, and page 143
See all 32 books citing this book
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