LGBTQ Romance
A
Amazon Customer
February 25, 2026
Beautiful story,
Very poignant, dramatic and tragic but also entertaining. The author made you feel each and every moment of happiness, heartache, as if you were there.
Gay
Farewell My Concubine: A Brilliant Novel of Passion and Love in the Chinese Opera World
Lilian Lee 4.2 / 5.0
Published: 1994 ISBN: 9780060976446
Description
Bound by the rigid discipline of the Peking Opera and the shifting tides of twentieth-century China, two young boys forge a bond that transcends the stage. Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou grow up together, their lives inextricably linked as they master the roles of concubine and king. For Dieyi, the line between performance and reality dissolves; his devotion to his stage partner becomes a consuming, lifelong obsession. While Xiaolou navigates the expectations of conventional manhood and marriage, Dieyi remains anchored to the fantasy of their shared history, waiting for a love that the world refuses to permit.
This masterpiece is a haunting exploration of identity, loyalty, and the devastating cost of clinging to the past. Through decades of political upheaval and cultural transformation, the story captures the raw ache of unrequited longing and the weight of artistic sacrifice. It is a profoundly moving testament to the way love can define a life, even when it leads to inevitable heartbreak. With its rich historical atmosphere and poignant character studies, this novel offers an unforgettable look at the intersection of tradition and desire. It is a powerful, essential read that lingers in the heart long after the final curtain falls.
Customer Reviews
Top 3 from Amazon L
Leah
September 17, 2017
A classic that should be read by all folks!
This book should be read by everyone. I was first introduced to this book at an acting class. Actually the whole class was based on this book.
You need to read it to understand why the premise in this book relates to all of us. We all have definite, talents. We are all wonderful! Do we all have faults? Read it to understand what I am telling you!
R
Rini
December 9, 2012
Not the movie 100%
Lillian Lee is one of the more famous writers in China, as many of her books have been made into film. This book was no exception to the transformation of her prose into something higher; as such, I recommend you watch the movie and enjoy the director's interpretation of the novel. It's worth it, and filled with its own sets of metaphors on top of Lee's own.
On the other hand, the book is a fast read and there are elements I'm sure do not translate well. One commentor mentioned that Lee hits the reader with Dieyi's being subsumed by opera again and again. That's not untrue; however, it also misses part of the point. The book is done in chronological order from the boy's 8th year through his 58th (more or less). There are places where the reader needs to be reminded that Dieyi's self is stuck in the world of the Opera, willfully so, and that is why he is able to do what he does, why he cracks as he does, and why he becomes such a transcendental beauty. I didn't think anything of it, except that there are points when he is more oblivious to the real world than others. Somehow, that just adds to Dieyi's charm.
The story is brutal in many places, but unfortunately that was China during that transitional period between the end of the Qing and the end of the Cultural Revolution.
For a look at Beijing/Peking Opera training, and a personalized perspective of identity and gender during that time period, this is a great book. For an overall less painful rendition (mind you, it's…
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