Women, Seated
Brilliant ... A taut, tightly structured novel, ... Digs deep despite its brevity. Tiang...preserves Zhang’s crackling dialogue ... Offer[s] much to perceptive readers.
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It is tempting to situate Women, Seated in the tradition of socialist realist fiction—its critique of class politics, its working-class narrator—but there is no revolutionary romanticism in Zhang’s work. For Yu Ling, the chips have fallen where they may, but life continues. In its examination of class in China, what feels truer to life in Zhang’s fiction is precisely its refusal of an easy resolution ... A meticulously constructed novel ... What propels it is the societal tension that it tries to make legible.
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Taut ... Though short, this captivating novel offers plenty to ponder about power dynamics, loyalty, and privilege.
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