The Girl Who Played Go - Tapa dura

"Measured . . . Precise . . . The historical backdrop, itself a forceful character, provides a compelling context for this economical story of impossible love."-Sara Ivry, "San Francisco Chronicle" "Spare prose adorned with images that linger in the mind . . . In this elegant translation . . . the dreamlike, mesmerizing alternation of voices stands in uneasy contrast to the operatic violence of the plot."-Janice P. Nimura, "New York Times Book Review""What makes Sa's novel so satisfying is the deceptive simplicity of her narrative strategy . . . We watch in fascination as the terrible secrets of their lives begin to coincide."-Charles Matthews, "San Jose Mercury News""Shan manipulates the scope of silence with a wisdom beyond her years."-Elsa Gaztambide, "Booklist""Dreamy . . . powerful . . . this unlikely love story . . . is beautiful, shocking, and sad."-Jennifer Reese, "Entertainment Weekly""Lovely and delicate as a carved jade flower . . . This is beautiful writing."-Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal""Harrowing . . . While exploring epic themes like the loss of innocence and the meaning of honor, it lingers on the tiny, exquisite details of life in a remote, cosmopolitan Manchurian town in the thirties."-Elizabeth Schmidt, "Vogue"

Set in Japanese occupied Manchuria in the 1930s, The Girl Who Played Go is harsher, more shocking than Balzac, a timeless tale of love and war reflected in the age-old game of go. In the Place of a Thousand Winds, snow falls as a sixteen-year-old Chinese girl beats all-comers at the game of go. One of her opponents is a young Japanese officer of the occupying power, rigidly militaristic, imbued with the imperial ethic, yet intrigued by this young opponent who plays like a man. Their encounters are like the game itself, restrained, subtle, surprisingly fierce. But as their two stories unfold, and the Chinese try to ignore their oppressors, the Japanese army moves inexorably through their huge land, in the vanguard of a greater war, leaving blood and destruction in its wake. Shan Sa's novel has a wonderful directness and deceptive simplicity that catches the reader by the throat, and makes the cruelty and tragedy of its outcome all the more shocking. An exquisite and unusual novel with strange twists on the Romeo and Juliet theme, The Girl Who Played Go is already a bestseller in France.