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Brothers: A Novel
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price:
$14.95
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$10.17
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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781400097296
ISBN: 1400097290
Label: Three Rivers Press
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 448
Publication Date: 2007-06-12
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Release Date: 2007-06-12
Studio: Three Rivers Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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At the height of China’s Cultural Revolution a powerful general fathered two sons. Tan was born to the general’s wife and into a life of comfort and luxury. His half brother, Shento, was born to the general’s mistress, who threw herself off a cliff in the mountains of Balan only moments after delivering her child. Growing up, each remained ignorant of the other’s existence. In Beijing, Tan enjoyed the best schools, the finest clothes, and the prettiest girls. Shento was raised on the mountainside by an old healer and his wife until their deaths landed him in an orphanage, where he was always hungry, alone, and frightened. Though on divergent roads, each brother is driven by a passionate desire—one to glorify his father, the other to seek revenge against him.
Separated by distance and opportunity, Tan and Shento follow the paths that lie before them, while unknowingly falling in love with the same woman and moving toward the explosive moment when their fates finally merge.
Brothers, by bestselling memoirist Da Chen, is a sprawling, dynamic family saga, complete with assassinations, love affairs, narrowly missed opportunities, and the ineluctable fulfillment of destiny.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: livrelovre
Comment: Brothers is an engaging read with complex characters and a riveting plot. I was completely pulled into the story and read late into the night to finish. Da Chen's skillful storytelling allowed me to visualize the two brothers and to sympathize with the emotions that lead them to two different lifestyles. I eagerly anticipated the moment when their destinies would merge and the ending did not disappoint. There were lots of aspects of the story that reminded me of Kite Runner,and the themes of loyalty, revenge, love, and forgiveness were artfully expressed in language that was beautiful and original. I will definitely look for books by this author in the future.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A bodice ripper in the guise of a historical novel
Comment: A preposterous story set in a specific historical period in China. If only the history were right! Unlike other historical novels--Shogun, those of Phillipa Gregory, The Temple Dancer, etc--having read this book, one is left with little feeling for the history, places or people of China. This book could have been set anywhere. Why the author chose to set it in post cultural revolution China and then get the facts all wrong is a mystery.
Other reviewers have pointed out the historical inaccuracies, as well as the puzzling transliterations, but I was most put out by the 21st century thoughts and words of the characters. It was though 16 year olds in isolated China at the end of the cultural revolution could see what China would be like, economically, politically and sociologically in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Da Chen has poor, maltreated and ill-educated teenage orphans in 1968 talking about stocks and bonds, entrepreneurs and the market economy. And, really, this is only one example of all the different ways he has his characters saying things that just would not have been in the psyche of any young person in China in the time in which this novel is set.
On the positive side, Da Chen can tell a story. Despite the major distractions in his writing content, the story is a page turner. It just seems that Da Chen had a story in mind he wanted to write, he decided to set it in China (like sex, China sells, I suppose) and he massaged the facts to fit his story.
If you had nothing at all to read and you were on a beach vacation, this might be a way to pass the time. But I'd rather read a mystery--better story and at least you are not expecting any kind of historical or sociological accuracy.
A major disappointment.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enthralling, loved it
Comment: I admit to being a bit deficient in the category of Chinese-inspired literature; however, this book pulled me in from the very beginning and I loved each of the characters. The epic plot is what makes the story worth writing - it does not in the least make it sophomoric or juvenile. I had to weigh in - the bad reviews on this one are completely unwarranted. I'm taking it to my Book Club this week.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to the 1-star reviews.
Comment: This book was amazing and enthralling. I do not understand the criticisms depicting the book as "juvenile" and "sophmoric." First of all, the plot line is incredibly complex, reaching far beyond a child's book. I was completely absorbed into the story. I wanted to find a story which would capture me from my everyday life, and this did it. It is a work of fiction, and for my own interest in reading literature, I certainly do not hope it is predictable. Overall, this story is one showing how fate depicts our future, for the better or worse. I loved it. Truly, it is one of my favorite books, along with others that would NEVER be given the term "sophmoric."
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not worth buying
Comment: The concept is interesting; the execution is remarkably poor. Childish and overblown prose, combined with cliched dialogue, makes Brothers diffcult enough to read. When that's combined with a ridiculous story, with improbable coincidences and dangling plot threads, it's hard not to laugh outright as you're reading. I also found the theme of having the brother(Tan) who was raised in luxury also being the hero who could do no wrong a little annoying. So it's not possible for someone raised in poverty(Shento) to be a decent man? ALL of the characters were shallow caricatures, however, and I guess it's easier to make it extremely clear who's good and who's bad. Anyway, I did finish the whole mess, so Da Chen deserves that much credit. Pick it up at a library if you really must read a novel set in modern China.
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