Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen is a phenomenal short story collection about culture, history, politics, and society in China and even the Chinese immigrant experience abroad. I really enjoyed the diversity of stories and characters. I also loved the blend of realistic stories with stories that fell more into the magical realism genre. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about China or if you love short stories. I'm not much of a short story person, but I still LOVED this collection and it might have turned me into a short story person.
While I loved each story, some of my favorites were 'New Fruit,' 'Flying Machine,' 'Gubeiko Spirit.' These stories tended to be more magical realism and filled with beautiful imagery.
I don't think I have any critiques of this book, besides that I was really sad it wasn't longer and I can't wait until Te-Ping Chen writes another book!
While I loved each story, some of my favorites were 'New Fruit,' 'Flying Machine,' 'Gubeiko Spirit.' These stories tended to be more magical realism and filled with beautiful imagery.
I don't think I have any critiques of this book, besides that I was really sad it wasn't longer and I can't wait until Te-Ping Chen writes another book!