"The writing, in Harman's translation, is a delight—rich and lively." —New York Times Book Review
"Interwoven with references to China's tumultuous political history and rich artistic tradition, Pingwa's novel captures a nation undergoing change and brutally illustrates what that change might actually cost…[An] optimistic yet heartbreaking tale of the life of Hawa 'Happy' Liu." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Although the characters suffer the socioeconomic upheavals of contemporary China, they accept their plights and muddle through…" —Kirkus Reviews
"Easy read…Enjoyable." —Library Journal
"Nicky Harman's free-flowing translation of Jia's prose swiftly ferries the reader through the four hundred and fifty-page novel, capturing its Rabelaisian-like humor and colorful tableaus of migrant workers with their diverse personalities, aspirations, and shortcomings." —Asian Review of Books
"This is an incredibly beautiful book, a story of the triumph of the human spirit which transcends time and space…Translating is always a tricky task, with the non-native reader often missing out on the finer nuances of wordplay and language-specific puns, but Nicky Harman manages to preserve Pingwa's natural style and frequent mixing of the rustic idiom, by juxtaposing American slang with formalized British English. It is a technique that may have jarred in other hands, but Harman pulls it off with the practiced ease of the experienced translator. The result is as close as the English reader can get to the author's original presentation and intent." —The Indian Express
"Sometimes a good book highlights our similarities, sometimes our differences. Sometimes it stays inside its borders, sometimes it strays across. The rare book manages all of the above, and sometimes deceptively so…Enter Pingwa's Happy Dreams…It was too good for me, did its job too well, for which Harman also certainly enjoys a heaping helping of praise." —Words Without Borders
"Happy Dreams…is Happy Liu's story. It is also the story of modern China, where the flow of labor from rural to urban areas has continued unabated for decades and is arguably the largest such migration in history. The China depicted in Happy Dreams is not one that will be familiar to Western tourists who are typically shielded from the country's underside. Xi'an is known for its terra-cotta warriors, after all, not for the small army of men and women who scavenge trash from every corner of the city. Those with more than a superficial knowledge of the country, however, will recognize the novel's brutal honesty." —Washington Independent Review of Books
"Hawa 'Happy' Liu is an endlessly optimistic man on a mission. He wants to find the recipient of the kidney he donated. Set in contemporary China, Happy Dreams is a charming story about the power of positivity." —HelloGiggles
"Happy Dreams explores the lives of the people we don't always see. Through Happy's eyes, Jia Pingwa shows us the hope living, literally, amongst the garbage of a city, and how treacherous urban life can be for those unsure how to navigate it."—Angela Amman
"The minutiae of life in a city of China as a trash picker. Interesting small adventures in this story. The topic of friendship with its ups and downs is one I enjoyed from this story." —vvb32 Reads
11/01/2017
Published in the author's home country in 2008, this new work by one of China's most prominent writers (e.g., Ruined City) limns the nuances of daily life, focusing on trash pickers Hawa "Happy" Liu and his good friend Wufu. Together, they travel from Freshwind Township to try their luck in the big city of Xi'an. Happy also has another motive: to find the recipient of the kidney that he sold, which allegedly went to a big company boss in Xi'an. Opening and closing with Happy carrying Wufu's body, the work depicts Happy's time on the road with his friend and their trials and tribulations as seen through the eyes of the ever optimistic character. Happy even falls in love with Mrs. Meng, a prostitute, along the way. Happy Liu is not quite the equivalent of Forrest Gump, as Happy is much more clever and resourceful. On the whole, the novel is an easy read but can be reminiscent of a long and nearly endless episode of Seinfeld. VERDICT Lacking a strong plot, this meandering tale is not for all readers; however, those seeking light entertainment may find it enjoyable.—Shirley Quan, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA
2017-08-06
Dreaming of success, hapless peasants move to the big city in Jia's newly translated 2007 novel.Liu, after optimistically changing his first name to "Happy," arrives in the booming metropolis of Xi'an, in central China, with his friend Wufu in tow. Both men are part of a vast wave of displaced rural Chinese who can no longer make a living farming small plots in their home villages. First-person narrator Liu has a particular reason for choosing Xi'an: he sold a kidney to raise money for a marriage that never happened, and he knows his organ went to a Xi'an man. He also keeps a pair of high heels as a souvenir of his dashed conjugal hopes. Once in Xi'an, Liu and Wufu run up against the harsh realities of income inequality. The only work they can get is scavenging garbage, and they move into a ramshackle tenement shared with fellow trash pickers. Scatological slapstick runs throughout this rambling, episodic, and largely plotless tale. The first chapter begins with a flash-forward: Liu lugs the dead Wufu on his back as he offers explanations to police. Consequently, the manner of Wufu's death is the main, if not the only, source of suspense. Many anecdotes illustrate the vagaries of culling and selling trash, a lucrative shadow enterprise existing alongside municipal waste management. References to obscure regional cuisine occasionally spice things up—noodle porridge, anyone? Liu's stated reason for moving to the city, finding his "alter-ego," the kidney recipient, is soon subsumed by his daily grind, until he encounters Mighty, an exemplar of China's growing entrepreneurial class. Liu's new love, Meng Yichun, who wears stilettos identical to his own, is a prostitute working out of a beauty salon on a street where all such salons are fronts for brothels. Although the characters suffer the socio-economic upheavals of contemporary China, they accept their plights and muddle through—this is not a novel of pointed political commentary.Easily digestible but bland.
