Letters to Little Comrade

In this reissue of Dan K. Woo’s debut novel we meet Little Comrade, a young woman at the mercy of the fates in the fictional country of Quina. Framed as an advice booklet, Letters to Little Comrade takes us on a dystopic journey that circles around Little Comrade’s attempts to find happiness and purpose in her life, whether by finding fulfilling work, finding love, by pleasing her parents or by leaving her country.

With chapter titles such as “Keep Calm, There Is Hope,” “Exercise Is Healthy for the Spirit” and “Too Much Romance Is Unproductive” the author moves effortlessly between the bracing tone of a self-help book and the bleak story of Little Comrade. Woo also skilfully weaves in social commentary on gender relations, worker exploitation and government propaganda, with matter-of-fact descriptions and fatherly advice. The resulting book is a captivating and tragic story with a nameless, yet unforgettable, heroine.

Reviews

Letters to Little Comrade, the eleventh installment of the Qinese Bureau of Public Affairs’ modern-day urban series, takes us on an enlightening journey following Little Comrade’s attempts to find happiness and purpose in her life through work, love, parental approval and misguided dreams of a faraway land known as “America.” With chapter titles such as “Keep Calm, There Is Hope,” “Exercise Is Healthy for the Spirit” and “Too Much Romance Is Unproductive,” this publication moves between the tone of a self-help book and the story of Little Comrade, skilfully inserting social commentary about gender relations, workers’ diligence and sacrifice and social harmony through patriotism. This new edition of QBPA’s classic is a captivating and tragic tale with a nameless yet unforgettable heroine.


“Learning How to Love China exploits [the] tension between realistic narrative and propaganda to powerful effect, producing a biting satire of modern China that has a great deal to say about hope, aspiration, and the way both interact with the false utopianism of agitprop.


– The Temz Review

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In this reissue of Dan K. Woo’s debut novel we meet Little Comrade, a young woman at the mercy of the fates in the fictional country of Quina. Framed as an advice booklet, Letters to Little Comrade takes us on a dystopic journey that circles around Little Comrade’s attempts to find happiness and purpose in her life, whether by finding fulfilling work, finding love, by pleasing her parents or by leaving her country.

With chapter titles such as “Keep Calm, There Is Hope,” “Exercise Is Healthy for the Spirit” and “Too Much Romance Is Unproductive” the author moves effortlessly between the bracing tone of a self-help book and the bleak story of Little Comrade. Woo also skilfully weaves in social commentary on gender relations, worker exploitation and government propaganda, with matter-of-fact descriptions and fatherly advice. The resulting book is a captivating and tragic story with a nameless, yet unforgettable, heroine.

Reader Reviews

Details

Dimensions:

176 Pages
8.5in * 5.5in * 0.44in
246gr

Published:

March 21, 2023

City of Publication:

Hamilton

Country of Publication:

CA

ISBN:

9781989496626

Book Subjects:

FICTION / Asian American

Featured In:

All Books

Language:

eng

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