Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

This was a tidy and satisfying novel/novella. It was a shorter book, reminding me of When the Emperor was Divine and Lighthousekeeping. (Perfect after the Mandela volume.) This story followed two children of political prisoners during the Mao regime in China. During their re-education in rural China they meet many interesting townspeople and travel around the area. Banned books play a central role in the story as well, making it a must for bibliophiles like myself. Recommended.