Welcome to Litsy!

Short novel about a Beijing man who builds stereo systems for a living and his struggles with love, family and money. It was…odd. I‘d give it a pick because it‘s short and strange. #boxwalla

“Who knew that such a beautiful place could be hidden away in the suburbs of Beijing! As I wound down the narrow mountain road, a feeling of awe washed over me, as well as feelings of sorrow and resentment for being excluded.” I remember feeling similarly when flowers & blue sky were ever-present in California in February while my friends on the east coast were cold & shoveling. It‘s hard to explain but I was so sorry they were excluded from this.

While this wasn‘t my favorite of the #NYRBbookclub selections, I know many of the scenes will stay with me. It‘s a brief study of the culture of old China vs. the new materialistic capitalist China and details the ways in which family and friends can deceive and manipulate. The main character, living in poverty, builds and sells high end sound systems to the wealthy. It‘s an odd book with an abrupt ending and a number of wonderful insights.🤷🏻‍♀️

Bonus Question!
This marks the one year anniversary of #NYRBBookClub Not only has the world changed, but we've had significant changes in our group. We lost a member, two of our members have welcomed future readers into the world (or very soon!) Through it all we've shared photos of our pets, our bails, our wine & once a month we gather together and share our enthusiasm. So, what has been your favorite book of the past year?

Our protagonist is in the music business and loves music. So, what was the last album you fell in love with? #NYRBBookClub
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A novella is a difficult form. Often it can feel like either an overly long short story, or an abridged novel. Were there elements &/or characters that you would have liked to have seen developed more? Do you think Fei's book worked well as a novella?
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In an interview Fei said, "I made a point of going to southern Beijing, walking around the streets, memorizing the images, the scenes, understanding what went where, and what was there. I was inspired by a great critic who pointed out if you're going to write about the city, you have to write about a specific place-you can't write purely on the basis of your imagination..." Do you think that Fei adequately portrayed Beijing in his book?

Mr. Cui crafts speakers for wealthy audiophiles. Did you find the technical jargon & the physics of sounds to be too much info or was it interesting?
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One of the themes of The Invisibility Cloak is uncertainty in life. "You should understand that nothing in this world is ever truly clear. If life is crazy, let it be crazy!..Try to be perfect, and where's the fun?" How well do you think Fei handled this theme, especially for Mr Cui's development?
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#NYRBBookClub discussion starts in about 30 minutes. As always chime in when you're free. The world is a mess, I hope you and your loved ones are doing well.
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Wanted to steal @emilyhaldi 's review because it sums up the book so well :) This is a 3 ⭐ pick for me. Not wow, but I liked something about the self-deprecating tone shot through with black humour & the nuggets of insight that fill its pages. I think it's trying to raise some interesting questions about art, authenticity, & meaning, but it comes off a little too slight. Still, I always enjoy an underachiever's tale told with wit. #nyrbbookclub

Love it when my book matches my flowers! Slow start, but I hope to finish up tonight in time for the #NYRBBookClub discussion tomorrow.

Hmmmm ok, well I have some conflicting thoughts on this but I'm going to consider Mr. Cui's concluding instruction to "stop nitpicking and dissecting every little thing... keep one eye closed and one eye open... quit worrying about everything and everybody" and life (and this book?) will actually be pretty fucking beautiful ?
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#NYRBBookClub a pick, but not enthusiastically so.Mr.Cui may not have status or money, but he has an interesting skill, building high end audio sets.Ones he basically can‘t afford to own.As he struggles to make ends meet , his friends & family are more antagonistic than helpful or supportive.Cui was left behind in the Beijing boom,amazed at the shallow & greedy who seek status with an almost western capitalist zeal.Some dark humor throughout.

The narrator, slightly disillusioned & adrift, is barely making it on orders for customized speakers for wealthy audiophiles. He looks back on more prosperous times, including a legend about a wealthy figure that provides the book title & a metaphorical attitude to our narrator. A novella, there's a lot of moving parts. Too many, I think. The parts that work are interesting, but aren't necessarily new to me. I've seen similar elements in 👇

Oof...

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Lyrics from a Peking opera. Unfortunately they‘re not wrong. #nyrbbookclub

Okay, I‘m heading in, my fellow #NYRBBookClub pals!

This one seems to be splitting people‘s opinions. 🤔

Last one 😆

Yeaaaahhhh... YOLO, just go with the flow 🤪

A lot of people are pushing their limits just to look “rich”, which is a dumb thing to do. Why do we care about what others think?

Another one from this book 💕

Join me Sat 5/30 @1 PM CST as we discuss Ge Fei's The Invisibility Cloak. Reviews have been a bit mixed on this selection. Did this work for you or not? Let's discuss.
@BarbaraBB @emilyhaldi @sprainedbrain @mklong @youneverarrived @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @Liz_M @merelybookish @MicheleinPhilly @GatheringBooks @saresmoore @sisilia @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Suet624 @Theaelizabet
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I enjoyed the sly humor about characters without many redeeming qualities, but was a little disappointed that the mystery aspects introduced early on didn't end up developing very far. The writing was engaging, but I would have enjoyed more twists and turns: the short length and anticlimax gave it an unfinished feel. I did like the descriptions of high quality sound systems - it made me want to listen to what was being described.

Between a pick and a so-so. I enjoyed the descriptions of present-day Beijing as well as the Beijing of the narrator's childhood. I also was intrigued by the family and friendship dynamics. But a lot left me mystified. There were significant themes that eluded me, a plot I didn't really care about, and some questions that remained unanswered. As always, I look forward to what other #nyrbbookclub members have to say. @vivastory

From 1950s small-town Iowa to 21st century Beijing. Diving into May's #nyrbbookclub selection. Something to keep me sane while I'm in a four-hour zoom class. 😩 @vivastory

I‘m not sure what to think of this book, so far. The writing is clever and I‘m liking the narrator‘s POV, but not sure where the story is going... 🧐 #NYRBBookClub #bookandbump

This book is called a comic novel but to me it‘s tragicomic at the most, with a bit of fantasy. Highly original and I loved to peak into modern China.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Cui, a middle aged man who barely scrapes by in Beijing by building high quality audio systems for wealthy customers.

#NYRB #NYRBBookClub ⬇️⬇️⬇️

As the marvelous music permeated the dark night, the whole world seemed to fall silent at once, turning darkly mysterious. Even my two goldfish in their enameled stoneware basin would leap up and disturb the water with their tails, wriggling with cold excitement. An illusion of hiding in the quietest corner of the deepest place on earth would take over my consciousness.

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4⭐️ I love this! Reading this novel really feels like listening to my parents sharing their wisdoms about life 😆 So many quotable phrases that I will definitely revisit. Excellent translation by Canaan Morse, too!
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Thanks to @saresmoore for co-hosting April's selection. An enormous thank you to all of you! Our thoughtful & lively discussions continue to be a high point of my month. Join me this month as we read and discuss Ge Fei's The Invisibility Cloak. @sisilia I look forward to your June nominations!
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My #NYRBbookclub May selection arrived today from Better World Books. I was all kinds of delighted. It apparently originally came from Strand Book Store and is an autographed copy. There was nothing in the description stating it was autographed! All for $5.

#BloomingBibliophiles Day 24: Our #NYRBBookClub pick for May has a mighty #colorful cover. Borrowed an e-book version from Singapore NLB‘s overdrive, which I still get to access, thanks to beautiful bibliophile friends.

#bookmail is the best mail ! Powells had to lay off over 300 people when the stores closed down .They hired 100 back to process orders that came in , slowed by social distancing, I get it , I want them to stay safe.Read a great review of Picture, the tagged book is #NYRBbookclub May selection.I was obsessed (years ago) with Barthelme thought I‘d check out the biography, affordable because it‘s used , glad it‘s in nice shape.Tom Toms butt , NEC.

It was a close vote, but Ge Fei's "The Invisibility Cloak" is the May #NYRBBookClub selection! Join me next month as we discuss.
@BarbaraBB @emilyhaldi @sprainedbrain @mklong @youneverarrived @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @Liz_M @merelybookish @MicheleinPhilly @GatheringBooks @saresmoore @sisilia @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Suet624 @Theaelizabet

A weird, quick story. I was confused mostly, but also ended up enjoying it.

And that's how you end a story.

A NYRB Classics Original, a newly translated contemporary Chinese novel.