Farewell My Concubine: A Brilliant Novel of Passion and Love in the Chinese Opera World

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.

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!

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…

Though the title of this novel might suspiciously give the first impression of being a love story between a man and his mistress. It is not. But it is a love story none the less. The story begins with the advent of two young men sold into servitude to be apprenticed as students of traditional Chinese opera. The training is physically demanding. The interactions with the other students is easy to relate as it documents universal relationships that are present in growing up. Not all interactions are pleasant, but all contain lessons for us as adults. Poverty after the revolt and overthrow of the Qing Dynasty (1912) followed by the formation of the Republic of China which lasted until the revolution of 1949 that resulted in its overthrow and the establishment of the Communist regime, The Peoples’ Republic of China. The time-line encompasses the youth of the two main characters as they train in opera, become operatic stars, and through the revolution of 1949, and afterwards. As they live through the political changes that China is undergoing, these political changes have effects on the cultural traditions and the arts. These changes have effects on the lives of our protagonists. More importantly, these are effects on all the peoples of China, but are told through the story of the lives of these two actors. The love story centers around a character each actor plays in their most famous operatic rendition. It easy to get so wrapped up in a character that you forget you are…

the quality is very good!