Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress
During Mao's Cultural revolution, two boys are sent to re-education camps. There they discover a hidden suitcase packed with the great Western novels of the nineteenth century. Their lives are transformed.
More by Dai Sijie
Chappie’s discussion starters
🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.
- Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
- Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
- What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
- If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
- Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?