Raise the Red Lantern
By Su Tong
1990
First Published
3.59
Average Rating
194
Number of Pages
The brutal realities of the dark places Su Tong depicts in this collection of novellas set in 1930s provincial China—worlds of prostitution, poverty, and drug addiction—belie his prose of stunning and simplebeauty. The title novella, "Raise the Red Lantern," which became a critically acclaimed film, tells the story of Lotus, a young woman whose father's suicide forces her to become the concubine of a wealthy merchant. Crushed by loneliness, despair, and cruel treatment, Lotus finds her descent into insanity both a weapon and a refuge. "Nineteen Thirty-Four Escapes" is an account of a family's struggles during one momentous year; plagued by disease, death, and the shady promise of life in a larger town, the family slowly disintegrates. Finally, "Opium Family" details the last years of a landowning clan whose demise is brought about by corruption, lust, and treachery—fruits of the insidious crop they harvest.
Avg Rating
3.59
Number of Ratings
3,782
5 STARS
21%
4 STARS
35%
3 STARS
31%
2 STARS
10%
1 STARS
4%
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Author
Su Tong
Author · 14 books
Su Tong (simplified Chinese: 苏童; traditional Chinese: 蘇童; pinyin: Sū Tóng; born January 23, 1963) is the pen name of Chinese writer Tong Zhonggui (童忠贵 Tóng Zhōngguì). He was born in Suzhou and lives in Nanjing. He entered the Department of Chinese at Beijing Normal University in 1980, and started to publish novels in 1983. He is now vice president of the Jiangsu Writers Association. Known for his controversial writing style, Su is one of the most acclaimed novelists in China. (from Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su\_Tong
