A+Few+Words+from+the+Critics...



"This is a wonderful story about relationships and love, about the buoyancy of youthful souls thrown into the cold and potentially drowning waters of very trying circumstances, and, lastly, about the need for those things in our lives that stir our imaginations to life and so generate fresh desires and new dreams within us. It is the stirring of human imagination that ultimately changes the world." -Mary B. Stuart

"A funny, touching, sly and altogether delightful novel...about the power of art to enlarge our imaginations." -The Washington Post Book World

"I think the fact that this novel is written in fable form is both a virtue and a vice: Sijie's complex message regarding the power of literature and creativity is quite clear, but character development and the connection I feel towards the characters within the novel lack depth. -Karen Raymer