This book is a collection of short stories written by Taiwanese author Sanmao (a pen name) whilst living in the Saharan desert. I didn’t find much discussion of it using the search tool so I wanted to open up a discussion.
First of all, I loved this book. The stories ranged from whimsical and light-hearted to extremely dark and painful. The narrator (Sanmao herself, or a version of herself created for the book) is what ties it all together. Her thoughts and actions are not that of a perfect human, but are perfectly human. She is curious, direct, thoughtful and passionate. This book took me to a different place and time, and when I finished it I felt like I had lived an entire life.
I am trying to avoid spoiling anything, but I really hope western audiences will find this book (as it seems she was/is very popular in China!). Others who have read it, what did you think?
by okay_watercolors