10 Sep / Beijing Doll by Chun Sue, translated by Howard Goldblatt [in AsianWeek]
Okay, call me a terribly old fuddy-duddy, but I just don’t get the lure of reading about the sex lives of misdirected, apathetic teenagers. I know there’s an audience out there because Doll is an international bestseller with rights sold in 17 countries. Based on her own diaries, Sue wrote Doll at age 17 about her own encounters and adventures beginning at 14 (!). And I suppose it’s quite the commentary on the lost youth of a too-fast-changing China. She’s certainly precocious. And no surprise, she’s already got her next novel out, although it was immediately banned in China. These days, that’s the best guarantee for lucrative sales.
Review: “New and Notable Books,” AsianWeek, September 10, 2004
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2004 (United States)