num_pages: 172
description: In this enchanting tale about the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening, two hapless city boys are exiled to a remote mountain village for reeducation during China's infamous Cultural Revolution. There they meet the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation. As they flirt with the seamstress and secretly devour these banned works, they find transit from their grim surroundings to worlds they never imagined.
language: English
title: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
titlecomplete: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
genres: Fiction, Historical, Books About Books, Asia, China, Literature, Asian Literature, Novels, Classics, Historical Fiction
ratings_count: 62844
places: China
awards: awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
category: Shortlist, awardedAt: 1420099200000
name: Premio letterario Giuseppe Acerbi, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Prix des libraires du Québec
category: Lauréats hors Québec, awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Prix Relay du Roman d'Evasion, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Scott Moncrieff Prize
category: Ina Rilke, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Premi Llibreter de narrativa, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Dublin Literary Award
publisher: Chatto & Windus