Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh

Book Description

In these twelve stories, we see the astonishing range of Mo Yan's vision - which critics reviewing The Republic of Wine have compared to that of Tolstoy. The stories range from the tragic to the comic, though Mo Yan's humor is always tinged with a shade of black. They embody, too, the author's deep and abiding love of his fellow man, equaled only by his intense disdain of bureaucracy and repression. His fiction is never didactic. Satire, fantasy, the supernatural, mystery: all are present in this remarkable, and intensely enjoyable, volume.

Customer Reviews:

Kenzaburo Oe's choice for a Nobel.......2006-11-05

The blurb from Kenzaburo Oe on the front of the book says, quite simply, "If I were to choose a Nobel Laureate it would be Mo Yan." I think the esteemed Oe would have a good case to make. This short story collection is very revealing about Mo Yan and his purpose in writing. In his introduction, Mo discusses his direction to become a writer after a life of poverty, where a shipment of coal becomes a feast for the villagers. Several of these stories may seem incomplete at first glance, but Mo's introduction brings light to the fact that he is out to reveal a basic love of humanity in his work as well as a desire for justice.

In the title story, certainly and focal point of this collection, Ding Shikou is laid off from work just one month before retirement. Silly, simple man that he is, he believes the kind words of the politicians and supervisors who give him encouraging words and even tries to see them when they've invited him to come see them at any time.

But of course, they are liars, and that is what is at the root of Mo's work--the struggle of humans against powers stronger than them. Sometimes the humans take some kind of victory, as Ding Shikou does in becoming an entrepreneur by turning a rundown bus into a retreat for lovers (by the hour), but when they are victorious in any way, a price is paid. Ding suffers loss of pride, but fortunately not his humanity and in the end cannot be as greedy and ruthless as those who put him out in the first place.

It is this kind of ideal that drives the other stories in this collection as well. "Man and Beast" and "Iron Child" are tales laced with magic about the struggles of soldiers and children to maintain their humanity in the face of unmerciful Japanese soldiers or abandonment by parents. In "Man and Beast," the narrator's grandfather learns compassion even for his enemies, while in "Iron Child," an abandoned child learns to live as an iron demon. Even is fantastical tales like "Soaring," a woman who can sprout wings is surrounded by cold traditionalists who insist upon her arranged marriage.

The humans of Mo's work are beset on all sides and sometimes cannot overcome at all, but the best stories in this collection sing of the human spirit and its endless fight.

His Muses Were Hunger and Loneliness.......2003-03-05

This is a short story collection that ranges from the prosaic to the poetic. The title story ("Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh") is a delightful tale of an unemployed factory worker who gets incredibly creative and makes out like a bandit until he meets some clients that are out of this world. The Chinese director Zhang Yimou made turned this story into a film called HAPPY DAYS.

Other than the opener, my favorite stories are "Abandoned Child," which makes a strong statement about the continuing practice of female infanticide; "Love Story," about an unlikely love affair set in the countryside; the strange fantasty "Iron Child" about a possible outcome of over-industrialization; and the incredibly poetic "Man and Beast," which the author claims is a sequel to his novel RED SORGHUM (although I missed some of the references, I was enthralled).

In his preface, Mo Yan (which, by the way, is Chinese for "Don't Speak") says his muses were hunger and loneliness. In fact, the author has a unique rapport with the lives of peasants and workers, as opposed to many more intellectual writers in exile such as Gao Xingjiang. I have already read THE GARLIC BALLADS and plan to read more of this fascinating writer.

Simply marvelous.......2001-10-13

I'm afraid I have nothing intelligent to say about this book. However, this is not a reflection on the quality of the book, which certainly was not lacking, but rather a reflection of my extreme fatigue. In any case, this book is certainly worth a read or two and perhaps even more.

Mo Yan. Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh.(Book Review)(Brief Article): An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction

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Mo Yan. Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh.(Book Review)(Brief Article): An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction
Jeffrey Twitchell-Wass
Manufacturer: Review of Contemporary Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on September 22, 2002. The length of the article is 2860 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Mo Yan. Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh.(Book Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Jeffrey Twitchell-Wass
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2002
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Page: 162(1)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Mo Yan. Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh.: An article from: World Literature Today

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Mo Yan. Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh.: An article from: World Literature Today
Timothy C. Wong
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 820 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Mo Yan. Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh.
Author: Timothy C. Wong
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 76 Issue: 2 Page: 118(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh (Advance Reading Copy)

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Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh (Advance Reading Copy)
Mo; Goldslalt, Howard (translator) Yan
Manufacturer: Arcade Publishing, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WGFAFW

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Wonderful

A magical world very like our own... but full of wonder

Uniquely Magic

Modern fantasy about redemption

we don't need anti-depressants, we need magic!
A Red Heart of Memories
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Manufacturer: Ace Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Hoffman, Nina Kiriki | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0441007686
Release Date: 2000-12-12

Amazon.com

She doesn't write multivolume fantasy epics--what Nina Kiriki Hoffman does write are haunting, character-driven short stories and novels. Matt (Matilda) Black, one of the two main characters in A Red Heart of Memories, appeared in two previous Hoffman novellas: Unmasking and Home for Christmas. Matt is a wanderer with the power to speak to inanimate objects and watch other people's thoughts and dreams. She meets a wandering witch, Edmund Reynolds. "Mostly I just wander from one place to the next," said Edmund, "waiting to be needed for something, then trying to figure out what it is." Spirit tells Edmund he can help Matt, even if she doesn't want him hanging around, and Matt finds that she can help Edmund in return.

Hoffman's fantasy is very much in the spirit of Jonathan Carroll's The Marriage of Sticks and Peter S. Beagle's Tamsin. She's written for children and her books are suitable for young adult readers, but don't be fooled. They're sophisticated, well-crafted stories written in a distinctive, uncynical voice and filled with magical reality.

In 1994, Hoffman won the Bram Stoker First Novel Award for The Thread That Binds the Bones, and both The Silent Strength of Stones (1995) and A Red Heart of Memories were nominated for the World Fantasy Award. As of 2001, Hoffman had been nominated for Nebula Awards four times. --Nona Vero

Book Description

From Bram Stoker Award winner and Nebula and World Fantasy Awards finalist Nina Kiriki Hoffman comes a novel of two young people who live outside ordinary reality-and who are about to discover life's extraordinary possibilities...

"A constant pleasure to read. Hoffman's best and most complete novel to date."-Locus

"Hoffman reworks a familiar outline with fresh remarkable ideas and considerable flair."-Kirkus Reviews

"An engaging tale, told with great skill, full of fascinating characters."-The Davis Enterprise

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2007-08-10

Nina Kiriki Hoffman is a terrific writer and I am glad that I purchased this book.

A magical world very like our own... but full of wonder.......2007-08-09

If you've already read this and are looking for similar books, I fear you'll be disappointed. Hoffman's novels are quite unique. That said, read the rest of her books, especially Past the Size of Dreaming and Stir of Bones. These are also about Matt and Edmund. Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls by Jane Lindskold, many stories & novels by Charles de Lint, say The Ivory and the Horn or Trader, the anthology The Armless Maiden ed. by Terri Windling who also wrote The Woodwife, a novel. Like Hoffman, these are urban fantasies. Where magic and faerie exists alongside McDonald's and malls and homeless people.

Matt (who is a woman, but since she's homeless she dresses and presents as a man) and Edmund have magic that most people can't see. Edmund calls his Spirit. Is that the Holy Spirit? Maybe. They don't say. Do other people think they're mentally ill? Matt's spent some time in hospitals. They're warm and serve meals, but since she can ask trash cans and dumpsters to give her their freshest food, finding food isn't a problem for her. Edmund's car takes care of him, in a very real way.

The magic in this book isn't like Gandalf's or even Harry Dresden's, it isn't *big.* But it is transformative of several lives. Maybe yours too?

Uniquely Magic.......2007-02-23

I love everything by Nina Hoffman, and this book is probably my favorite; she has such an amazing command of fantasy. "A Red Heart of Memories" combines unique and fascinating fantasy elements with reality and the issues people face. Her characters are never shallow, and the complexities of their personalities help the story move in unexpected directions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves unique fantasy - something different than what is typically out there in the fantasy world.

Modern fantasy about redemption.......2006-01-08

Although the setting of this well-written novel is the modern world, it is a modern world with a rich, pagan spirituality. But the heart of the story is the redemption that occurs when painful memories are faced. Resolutions are but too tidy, perhaps. While the worldview undergirding the story is pagan, the ethics are, in the main, traditional. Loyalty, home, forgiveness, understanding, tolerance: all all valued; child molestation, murder, and magical curses are understood to be wrong. There is no sex, although one of the protagonists thinks about sex (though not graphically). Magic helps the protagonists find redemption, but since in reality there is no magic (at least as described in the book), the reader may wonder whether humanity can really find redemption without divine aid.

we don't need anti-depressants, we need magic!.......2005-11-29

To all you geniuses who hate this book for either a. the fact that it champions the life of hobos, or b. the fact that you don't understand real psychological problems, maybe you should go back to the safer land of epic fantasy novels that don't require you to actually have feelings.

If you have ever experienced any of the following: abuse, incest, rape, depression, dissociation, and/or an identity disorder, you should read this book. Not only it is a fantasy book that reads like my talks with my therapist, but it cleverly comes up with magical solutions for all our psychological issues. I am partially glad that it exists because it lets me know someone else has figured out that we don't need anti-depressants, we need magic, but it also frustrates me that I don't have any Gold to make me not depressed anymore. That stuff would really come in handy.

Red Heart of Memories 1ST Edition Signed

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Red Heart of Memories 1ST Edition Signed
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Manufacturer: PENGUIN PUTNAM * TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U2BD2C

Book Description

Dr. Caspar Nordling is developing a micro-organism that is deadly to Aliens, but not to people. He's had a lot of luck engineering selective viruses to kill rats and weevils, but this is something altogether different. Highly speculative. Highly volatile. Just like the doctor himself. In a remote sector of the galaxy, on an isolated Grant-Corp space station, the thin line between science and horror is narrowing, and Philip and Joy Strunk, two company employees, are finding themselves on the short end of the cut.

Customer Reviews:

o.k........2004-04-16

This these comics were more funny then anything, a cyborg alien smokin a cigar, firein weapons, and havein the girl who gets cocooned and saved by the cyborg and still wants to have an argument is funny. The art is good o.k stroy line, the only reason i didnt give it a 5 star was that I often got lost in the story.

~this refers to the comic verson~

Excellent!!.......2002-06-29

One of the best Aliens comic books ever, this is both humerous and exciting. The characters in this book are very well crafted, with personalities and dialogue that is very realistic. Jeri is a great addition to the comic's list of characters, and he is very enjoyable whenever he appears. Stronghold also has THE most action packed climax in any Aliens comic book, yet also has a very original plot. I recommend it to anyone.

So So.......1999-11-30

Not as good as i thought it would be

scary,dark and original top read.......1999-09-12

this is one of the most fun book,s the slick dry hummor brings a needed feel if you like the alien franchise you will love this a must buy!

Great book.......1999-02-27

man this was one of the most interesting and great books of the aliens series, i am a big fan of this series and have read all of them, if u like aliens then this is a must read

Average customer rating:

Aliens: Stronghold No. 4 (Of 4)
John Arcudi
Manufacturer: Dark Horse Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000QCHN3E

Meeting on the moon: At the Mars stronghold : flying saucers 1959-1969

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Meeting on the moon: At the Mars stronghold : flying saucers 1959-1969
Riley Crabb
Manufacturer: Borderland Sciences Research Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00073B8JC

Average customer rating:

Mostly Recipes

Very Helpful

I liked the book but

Too much sugar, processed food....

Pretty Good, But not Great

Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents: Wholesome Family Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less From Three Leading Child Nutrition Experts
Sandra K. Nissenberg , Margaret L. Bogle , and Audrey C. Wright
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0471346985

Book Description

Make Healthy Meals as Fast as You Can Have Them Delivered In a world of frozen dinners and fast food drive-thrus, nutrition has taken a backseat to convenience. And for working parents, finding the time to cook wholesome dinners is no picnic. Finally, here's help for parents in a pickle—a cook-book full of healthy and delicious recipes you can make in 30 minutes or less. Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents is the perfect solution for tight schedules and empty stomachs. With over 140 tasty recipes for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and snacks, it's easy to prepare food the whole family feels good about. Here are just a few of the delightful dishes that will please parents and captivate kids:Beefy Turnovers • Fruited Rice • Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry • Mexican Corn Pudding • Apple Biscuits • Porcupine Meatballs • Pumpkin Pancakes • Spicy Oven Fried Potatoes • Peanut Butter Play Dough • Frozen Yogurt Sandwiches This Indispensable Guide Also Includes:

Timesaving ideas for organizing your grocery shopping and your kitchen.
Suggestions for snacks, lunch boxes, feeding picky eaters, and eating out.
Information on the food pyramid and nutrient labeling system.
Nutrition analysis and exchange values for each recipe.

Customer Reviews:

Mostly Recipes.......2007-04-30

There's a lot of good information here. As a teacher of twenty-five years, and as a parent, I've dealt with more than my share of overweight kids, and read everything that comes along on the subject. And although this book is one of the better ones out there, I've been recommending the CD talk "The Fat Kid's Diet: Stop Childhood Obesity In Your Home," available here at Amazon, to the parents who come to me with their concerns. It's brief, sensible, and right to the point.

Very Helpful.......2007-01-03

I found this book to be very helfpul in my never-ending quest to come up with meal ideas for my toddler that are healthy and appealing to him. The meals really are easy to prepare and I've yet to strike out in terms of my son actually eating the food. I would definitely rec this book for the recipes and tips geared towards younger, pickier eaters.

I liked the book but.......2006-07-17

I found the book very good in describing what you need to look for and do. I liked the receipes..simple and things I would normally buy.

Too much sugar, processed food...........2006-06-13

This book was disappointing. For starters, if you're cooking healthy recipes you should not be using instant rice, or canned cream-of-whatever soup. And just because you're cooking for children doesn't mean you have to add sugar to vegetables!

There are a few good recipes but borrow from your library first. I think the early Mollie Katzen cookbooks (Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Moosewood Cookbook) have much healthier recipes.

Pretty Good, But not Great.......2006-02-01

Decent recipes. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but they're pretty good (the Chunky Apple Muffins are *very* delicious!). However, some recipes do use heavily processed stuff like cream-of-whatever soup, cheez whiz, etc. Ick. :( It's very easy and takes just a few minutes to make a white sauce instead of using a can of cream soup. Not sure why the authors didn't do that instead, as it's much better - both for flavor and health - than the processed stuff.

My biggest complaint is that the cover says that the recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less. Not true for all of them! I can think of several off the top of my head that take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. I wish they wouldn't have advertised what they couldn't deliver.

Book Description

This book guarantees that each of its 200 recipes derives no more than10% of its calories from fat.

Customer Reviews:

not a good collection for lowfat.......2006-03-03

Not very good.Never lost much weight eating this way-healthy low carb works so much better and tastier too!

Average customer rating:

a little disappointing

Great ideas for small projects

The best cross stitch book for small items I've seen

Wonderful, wonderful cross stritches

Donna Kooler's Cross-Stitch Designs: 333 Patterns for Ready-to-Stitch Projects
Donna Kooler
Manufacturer: Sterling/Chapelle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cross-Stitch | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0806937033

Book Description

For the perfect baby’s gift, take plain store-bought bibs, booties, mittens, caps, and bath towels and adorn them with geese and teddy bears. Decorate pillows with fantastic sunflower or Victorian-style patterns—and you’ll love the wonderful designs for lacy table linens, jar covers, mugs, bookmarks, Christmas, and more—all 333 of them exquisitely interpreted for needlework.

Customer Reviews:

a little disappointing.......2006-12-07

After reading the other reviews of this book I was expecting something more, more creative designs, fresher designs . . . just something more. After thumbing through the book I didn't really find anything I was super-excited to get started on. I have another of Kooler's books (555 Patterns for the Young at Heart) which has some adorable designs so I was expecting something more along those lines. This book has some nice designs, though nothing struck me as being really fresh, new or inovative. I would look into some of her other books before purchasing this one, or check out 2001 Cross-Stitch Designs: the Essential Reference (Better Homes and Gardens) for a great book with a huge variety of motifs that can easily be stitched on a weekend project.

Great ideas for small projects.......2003-10-16

This is a collection of small cross-stitch projects, many of which are perfect for gifts. The book's chapters are organized by type of project--eg, Designs for Baby, Designs for Mugs, Designs for Towels, Designs for Bookmarks, etc. Although not all of the designs are pictured as finished products, the charts are clear and simple enough to allow you to imagine the finished version. The designs are beautiful without being complicated (ie, not a lot of half-stitches or backstitching). Some basic alphabets are also included to customize your projects. Overall, this is an excellent book for beginning and other cross-stitchers who enjoy small, manageable projects and who like giving their work as gifts.

The best cross stitch book for small items I've seen.......2000-06-14

This book is wonderful. The color choices are beautiful and soothing and the small items make the projects enticing to start. I bought the book and immediately made 3 things (bookmark, stitch-a-clip, and keyring). Usually I plan to make items and it takes a while to find the time to start or finish. This is a great book for any crafter!

Wonderful, wonderful cross stritches.......2000-05-15

Donna Kooler is the most wonderful of all for cross stitch projects. I just love this new book, I can't wait to do some of these projects that is this book. I think Donna is the best of all of the other I tried. Each projects are easy to read and fun to do.

Book Description

During the 1920s and 1930s, Willis Richardson (1889-1977) was highly respected as a leading African-American playwright and drama anthologist. His plays were performed by numerous black high school, college, and university drama groups and by theater companies in Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Baltimore, and Atlanta. With the opening of The Chip Woman's Fortune (1923), he became the first African American to have a play produced on Broadway. Several of his 46 plays were published in assorted magazines, and in his essays, he urged black Americans to seek their dramatic material in their own lives and circumstances. In addition, he edited three anthologies of plays by African-Americans. But between 1940 and his death in 1977, Richardson came to realize that his plays were period pieces and that they no longer reflected the problems and situations of African-Americans. In the years before his death, he attempted vigorously yet unsuccessfully to preserve several of his plays through publication, if not production. But the man who has been called the "father of African-American drama" and who was considered the hope and promise of African-American drama died in obscurity. Richardson has even been neglected by the scholarly community. This critical biography, the first extensive consideration of his life and work, firmly reestablishes his pioneering role in American theater. The book begins with a detailed chronology, followed by a thoughtful biographical essay. The volume then examines the nature of African-American drama in the 1920s, the period during which Richardson was most productive, and it analyzes his approach to drama as a means of educating African-American audiences. It then explores the African-American community as the central theme in Richardson's plays, for Richardson typically looks at the consequences of refusals by blacks to help one another. The work additionally considers Richardson's history plays, his anthologies, his dramas intended for black children, and his essays. A concluding chapter summarizes his lasting influence; the book closes with a listing of his plays and an extensive bibliography.

Willis Richardson, Forgotten Pioneer of African-American Drama (Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies)

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Willis Richardson, Forgotten Pioneer of African-American Drama (Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies)
Christine Rauchfuss Gray
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTP534

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