Paperbacks: Miss Chopsticks, by Xinran

Reviewed,Katy Guest
Thursday 17 July 2008 19:00 EDT
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Three country sisters make their way in the bright lights of Nanjing in this latest collaboration between Xinran and the translator, Esther Tyldesley, who has made her such a hit in the UK.

As women from a poor community, the Li sisters know that girls are a dispensable commodity - like chopsticks, their father says. This tender account of their adventures in the big city is not to be mistaken for a story "of China", according to its author. What it is is a haunting portrait of three women, from a huge literary talent.

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