I began reading this book believing it to be one thing (about a young Chinese girl who plays the ancient game of 'go') and then finding out it was something else entirely. The edition I have doesn't have a description on the back, just reviews of the book and I had honestly bought it knowing nothing about the author or book. It was at the bookstore, it sounded intriguing, so I bought it. I shelved it at some point and only recently brought it back out again.

The book is narrated by two people in alternating chapters--a young girl in Manchuria during the Japanese invasion of her country and the other is a young soldier in the invading army. The chapters are short--barely 3 pages in most cases--and written in a simply elegant way as to make me envy it. The novel reads almost like a poem at times, reminding me of the Japanese poetic verse of 'tanka' (Tanka are 31-syllable poems that have been the most popular form of poetry in Japan for at least 1300 years. As a form of poetry, tanka is older than haiku, and tanka poems evoke a moment or mark an occasion with concision and musicality.) but extended.

There is a brutal reality to both of their lives, rising tensions and political hostilities that can't be ignored. When they play though, when they are facing each other across the Go board and match wits and strategies, there is nothing else in world except the need to out-maneuver the other.

The book is translated into English, so there are occasional translator notes strewn throughout to explain why certain phrases/words were kept intact, but there are also historical annotations made when an event or person is mentioned. Especially when the soldier is narrating. Sometimes I appreciated them, but other times I was just annoyed because in the beginning some of the explanations take up a third of the page.

A reviewer commented that the romance between both is rather Romeo/Juliet like. I suppose if I had to describe it that would be accurate enough. Certainly there's the same sort of urgent secrecy to their love, but when one is dissatisfied with life and the other is doubting the very foundations of their life, it only seems logical they would be drawn together. ( )

Very interesting, enjoyable book about the Japanese invasion of China in the 30s. Told in alternative perspectives of a young girl who is a masterful Go player and a Japanese solider. The writing has many lovely phrases and images. ( )

I wanted to like this book...I mean...how could I not when it starts like this:

“In the Square of a Thousand Winds the frost-covered players look like snowmen. White vapor billows from their mouths and noses, and icicles growing along the underside of their fur hats point sharply downwards. The sky is pearly and the crimson sun is sinking, dying. Where does the sun go to die?"

But it just took too much effort to like the characters. ( )

"The Girl Who Played Go" by Shan Sa has many wonderful qualities. Unfortunately, it suffers from characters characters who are not believable, or stereotypes.

The book reads very quickly. There are 92 chapters, each one to three pages long. This is a plus. Despite the difficult material - the book takes places during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria - it is brisk. Sa clearly has points to make and she spends no time making them. In addition, the translation from the French by Adriana Hunter seems to be very good.

The book is written from two alternating perspectives. Odd-numbered chapters are written from the point of view of a 16-year-old girl from an aristocratic family. She is a preternatural go champion in a small city. She does not act like a 16-year-old. She attends fancy dancing parties and plays go with men young and old in the park. One way Sa is able to keep the story moving is by having Sa explain very complicated ideas and rumors with this character's innocence. For example, she will say something like "according to newspapers, Chinese resistance fighters are fighting back."

Even-numbered chapters are written from the point of view of a Japanese soldier. The soldier is guilty of the worst abuses of the Japanese army during this time and is a horrible stereotype. He attends brothels, talks about ritual suicide, and talks about the Chinese in horrible terms. He is an automaton worried only about the Empire of Japan.

Throughout the book, the author tries to get the best of two worlds: she wants a young protagonist who is innocent but worldly. She wants a small town with jazz-age trappings. In the end, this mix of ideas just doesn't work. This makes the book and the characters not very believable. ( )

Un peu tiré par les cheveux dans les péripéties et rencontres, un peu gavé de métaphores de poête-pouet-pouet - peut-être pas toutes les phrases, mais pas loin, ce livre reste très agréable à lire, et les personnages intéressants à suivre - je suppose que le "je" y aide, même si l'auteur "triche" un peu parfois, laissant penser que les narrateurs sont comme des livres ouverts (si j'ose dire) pour le lecteur, pour finalement nous révéler des actes et pensées quand même un peu importants pour le récit.
Mais je pardonne, car vraiment j'ai apprécié lire ce récit à deux voix, au rythme maîtrisé, aux enchaînements qui fonctionnent très bien, à l'ambiance balançant entre la mélancolie et la franche déprime, qui plus est dans un contexte historique que je ne conaissais que très peu, et même si ce n'est pas un roman historique, ça éclaire un peu. ( )