Rice: A Novel by Su Tong, translated by Howard Goldblatt [in AsianWeek]
Don’t be put off by the tacky cover with the bare chest of a necklaced young man. The story within, with all its rawness and shock, is hard to put down. Five Dragons, an orphaned young man on the verge of starvation, is given a job in the rice emporium belonging to the Feng family in 1930s China, a time marked by widespread famine. The Feng family treats Five Dragons no better than a dog; Five Dragons reciprocates with beastly behavior. His fate remains intertwined with the proprietor Feng and his two daughters, and through the decades, the results move toward greater brutality and final tragedy.
Review: “New and Notable Books,” AsianWeek, July 28, 2004
Readers: Adult
Published: 2004 (paperback reprint; United States)
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