Sounds of the River: A Young Man's University Days in Beijing

Beautiful story that captures the heart of one man's struggle to discover and understand the world outside his small village.

Anything written by Da Chen is worthy of your time!!!

Great

Three aspects of this memoir are worth marking. First, an opening to the dailiness and customs of both coastal provincial China and academic life in Beijing in the 1980s. Second, the rough language and testosterone of university students typical the world over. Third, the culture of greasing palms in various ways that continues in China. You learn a lot about lower class food along the way. Some portions are slow-going, and one can easily put the book down for rests.

Da Chen describes in aching detail his uphill battle to get his foot in the door of Chinese higher education with it's exposure to greater intellectual challenges and the potential for higher rewards. This book takes up from the point of his childhood described in "The Sounds of the River" in a flyspeck provincial village to the big city life of the capital Beijing. The persecutions visited on Da and his family due to their former lives as "landlords" continue with beatings, insults and threats of death or expulsion from school. Navigating the corrupt eductional system, living on pocket change, driving yourself into sleeplessness and bleeding ulcers, figuring out who and how to bribe in order to make it from day to day under Communist rule are explained and illustrated. Mr. Chen made an appearance at the Decatur Book Festival yesterday and my reading of his books was prompted by the opportunity to meet this extraordinary individual. His fluency with a brush and flute-explained in "Colors of the Mountain"-was evident. Do yourself a favor and delve into his books and into another world.

Alas, Chen Da's SOUNDS OF THE RIVER is not quite the knockout that his earlier COLORS OF THE MOUNTAIN was.This second, presumably concluding, volume in his autobiographical series was - to me - primarily valuable in it's details of Chinese university life. Certain aspects were familiar - the eclectic group of friends would be familiar to anyone in the world with some university experience, and his lengthy discussion of the more baroque machinations deep within the administration of a Chinese university was equally fascinating.At times the melodrama level ran a bit high - this was not always true, and I can think of one major event (involving a roommate) that is written about in a touching fashion. However, certain other occurences would seem to be a bit too befuddling for Chen to wax introspective over, and I was more interested in his thoughts than simple recountings of certain of these events.Still, Chen paints a largely very appealing self-portrait, and his attempts at balancing universality and communicating cultural specifics and experiences (further developing this, I note that Chen has adapted these autobiographical writings into a third volume for younger readers, an entirely approriate move) is to be lauded.-David Alston

Da Chen's "Sounds of the River" is a sequel to his first autobiography "Colors of the Mountain," which deals with his university days studying English at Beijing. "Sounds of the River" picked up where "Colors" ended. Chen wrote about the difficulties that he faced as a country boy travelling to a big city like Beijing and how he had trouble adjusted to living among the city folks. Once in Beijing, Chen realized that he needed to start from zero as he had difficulties comprehending and speaking English. Since he did not come from either a political background or a city, he was constantly looked down by some of his teachers and fellow classmates. However, Chen managed to survive as he studied hard and was determined to succeed. Later, Chen realized that he wanted to leave Red China and pursued his "American dream." (Not going to give it away here on how he had finally left China)I really enjoy his second book. I was very mesmerized by "Colors of the Mountain" and wanted to know what happened next. I enjoy his quirky observations of life on campus and the people that he encountered such as - the department's dean who needed to be bribed with oysters and lycees, his roommate Bo who was into high fashion, as I find them colorful and interesting. "Sounds of the River" is well-written as Chen is able to express his thoughts vividly to his readers. There are many funny moments and there are times that you can't help but relate to his ordeals. Some readers might also appreciate his poetic expressions. I think readers who are interested in this book should definitely start with his first, as it is crucial to know his family background, and experience to fully appreciate "Sounds of the River."

Da Chen's sequel to his first memoir, Colors of the Mountain, picks up where is his first book left off. His strength is in setting the scene and allowing the reader to feel if they are living the journey themselves.His descriptions and metaphors are complex and enjoyable. Reading his book made me feel like I was watching a movie He is able to create suspense and make the reader laugh along with him as he tells his story. This is well-worth the read for someone trying to understand China after the communist revolution.