A unique collection!

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elena l. Avatar

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[3,5/5 stars]

This collection of short stories is distinct and revolves around people living in modern China striving for better life and freedom.

The stories in LAND OF BIG NUMBERS address a great variety of themes such as criticism to government, censorship, police corruption and brutality. There's a story of twins who take completely different paths; amongst tart and sweet flavors, there's another story showing the emotional impact of the peculiar fruit qiguo in the characters; in another, Chen explores the complex nature of marriage which one starts to know the partner better with time, followed by conspiracy theory and inexplicable death; the comparison between living in US and China, with its peculiarities; a group of people trapped in a subway station for months unable to leave.

Full of speculative nature with a touch of melancholy and magical realism, each story brings awareness and allows our mind to meditate on the volatility of human nature, plus the several possibilities that can happen in our lives. Through approachable prose, the stories portray a tiny side of Chinese reality embedded with rich history and culture. My favorites are "Lulu", "Land of big numbers" and "Gubeikou spirit".