The Land of Big Numbers is a fast-paced, fascinating narrative describing the converging paths of a variety of Chinese citizens. The writing in this is absolutely delightful!
The first 30 pages draw you in, laying out the complex story of the twin's differing paths: one a video gamer, one a political activist. Each has a clear voice and their relationship with one another is beautifully described with prose like "From the start we were lucky, not least because we had each other. As twins we’d been spared the reach of the government’s family-planning policies, two winking fetuses floating in utero."
In later chapters, Chen further describes life in China for a variety of different people. Though fictional, it reads like a poetic scrapbook - imagine sitting in a train station and having the backstories of each family that passes by. That's what this book feels like - I cannot wait to read the rest.
The first 30 pages draw you in, laying out the complex story of the twin's differing paths: one a video gamer, one a political activist. Each has a clear voice and their relationship with one another is beautifully described with prose like "From the start we were lucky, not least because we had each other. As twins we’d been spared the reach of the government’s family-planning policies, two winking fetuses floating in utero."
In later chapters, Chen further describes life in China for a variety of different people. Though fictional, it reads like a poetic scrapbook - imagine sitting in a train station and having the backstories of each family that passes by. That's what this book feels like - I cannot wait to read the rest.