Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Land of Big Numbers
Land of Big Numbers: Stories | Te-Ping Chen
A debut collection from an extraordinary new talent that vividly gives voice to the men and women of modern China and its diaspora Gripping and compassionate, Land of Big Numbers depicts the diverse and legion Chinese people, their history, their government, and how all of that has tumbledmessily, violently, but still beautifullyinto the present. Cutting between clear-eyed realism and tongue-in-cheek magical realism, Chens stories coalesce into a portrait of a people striving for openings where mobility is limited. Twins take radically different paths: one becomes a professional gamer, the other a political activist. A woman moves to the city to work at a government call center and is followed by her violent ex-boyfriend. A man is swept into the high-risk, high-reward temptations of Chinas volatile stock exchange. And a group of people sit, trapped for no reason, on a subway platform for months, waiting for official permission to leave. With acute social insight, Te-Ping Chen layers years of experience reporting on the ground in China with incantatory prose in this taut, surprising debut, proving herself both a remarkable cultural critic and an astonishingly accomplished new literary voice.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Centique
post image
Pickpick

A great collection of short stories, almost all of them unsettled me - particularly the last one.
There are many faces of China here, people who stayed, people who left, a younger generation disconnected from the older ones, people feeling trapped or incomplete in both rural and urban settings. As Chen was a journalist here, she has this wide purview that gives these stories realism - but there is also a little fantasy in some.

Centique Image is the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai. I had dinner up there in the middle of a massive storm - probably not the best place to be in a storm! 1y
TrishB That was brave! I‘ve been to Shanghai but not had dinner there. The first time I went my hotel room was on the 43rd floor and I couldn‘t open the curtains! 1y
Centique @TrishB that‘s very high! 1y
See All 8 Comments
LeahBergen That would be scary! 😬 1y
LeahBergen @TrishB Oh, I‘m with you there … and I‘m not even that afraid of heights! 1y
TrishB @LeahBergen I‘m not usually that bothered! But it was like sleeping in the sky! Water pressure in the shower was amazing though 😁 1y
Reggie A book of unsettling short stories! Boop-stacked! Also, was the food good or were your taste buds too afraid to taste the food? Lol. That‘s wild. I couldn‘t have done it. 1y
Centique @Reggie it was a buffet, and it was one of those conferences where I ended up with a group of people I didn‘t know (a pretty unlikeable bunch of business people) and didn‘t know what I was eating and just spent the whole night people watching with the wind howling. Very surreal night! 1y
64 likes8 comments
review
MysticFaerie
post image
Mehso-so

3⭐/5⭐

review
BarbaraBB
post image
Pickpick

Such an excellent and rewarding collection of short stories set in modern China. Each story I learned a bit more about this immense country and all left me wondering about its ending. So many possibilities and so many constraints.

You were right in thinking that I‘d love it Meg, thank you for sending me this one.

#Booked2022 #SetInChina

(Pic: Burj Khalifa, Dubai)

Cinfhen Fabulous photo and wonderful review 🌻💛💙💛💙🌻 2y
erzascarletbookgasm Sounds good stacking. Great photo! ✨ 2y
Hooked_on_books I loved this one! I‘m sometimes reluctant about short stories, and this one far exceeded my expectations. 2y
See All 10 Comments
Nute Whoa! Cool photo! Thought that I had to stack this book, but I think that I purchased it last year.🥴 2y
squirrelbrain I really enjoyed this one too…and great photo! 2y
Megabooks So glad you loved it! Gorgeous photo as always. 🤩 2y
BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain It reminded me of this one, which was partly set in Haiti and partly in the US too. An excellent book too: 2y
BarbaraBB @Cinfhen @erzascarletbookgasm @Nute Thanks! It‘s a real good collection. 2y
BarbaraBB @Megabooks You knew I would! Such a good book! 2y
readordierachel I loved this one too! 2y
91 likes6 stack adds10 comments
blurb
slategreyskies
post image

I picked this up on sale today for $2.99 on Kindle in the US. This is definitely another case of #blameitonlitsy. I love when that happens! 🤣

RaeLovesToRead I love how blame it on Litsy is a hastag 🤣❤ 2y
43 likes2 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
post image
Pickpick

I sometimes struggle with short story collections, but not this one! Each story explores some aspect of Chinese culture, and that thematic linkage really worked for me. Plus, many of the story endings are unsettling in a good way, making them stick with you. Fabulous debut!

(#Literati gives you a sort of confetti each time you finish a book! This was Malala‘s pick for November.)

squirrelbrain I really liked this one too. 2y
44 likes2 stack adds1 comment
review
TracyReadsBooks
post image
Pickpick

I really enjoyed this collection of stories that illuminates both the extraordinary and utterly ordinary aspects of the lives of Chinese people both at home and abroad. History, tradition, family (and their expectations), politics, government, culture (and more) play a prominent role in many of the stories. Great reading which also gives you a lot to think about. Highly recommended.

Hooked_on_books I just finished this and I love that your picture is on a train platform, given the final story! 2y
20 likes1 comment
blurb
TracyReadsBooks
post image

Really enjoying this collection of short stories so far.

DrexEdit This one's in my stack of library books right now. I'm looking forward to it! 3y
24 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Sydneypaige
post image

A lovely collection of short stories of Chinese experiences, both in the diaspora and China. Also the cover is beautiful 🇨🇳

5 likes1 stack add
review
Floresj
post image
Mehso-so

This collection of short stories are set mostly in China. Short stories are one of my favorite genre to read, yet these stories were interesting but lacked the tight character development that other collections include. Some stories were well done, and I was invested in the characters, while others didn‘t hold my attention. This is a debut, and I anticipate her next collection will be really good as you can see glimmers of a very talented writer.

review
Megabooks
post image
Pickpick

This reflective short story collection is set mainly in China with a couple set in the diaspora in America. This debut book stood up to my 4.25⭐️ rating from February. However, none of the stories individually will crack my top 10 list. I recommend this collection if you‘re looking for consistently good writing and to read about China!

This #reread finished up my bookspin bingo board! 👍🏻

Cinfhen Hmmmmm, not sure if this one is for me 🤷🏼‍♀️ 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I‘m not sure it is either. 🤔 3y
86 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
rsteve388
post image
Pickpick

This was a great story collection about China and her Dispora and inhabitants. Having story's about the many different lives that are lived by the Chinese some of these stories felt deep and some made me want more to the story. Overall great book. 4.5

review
mhillis
post image
Pickpick

Land of Big Numbers is a collection of ten short stories by Te-Ping Chen. I wanted to highlight my favorite ones, but after finishing the book, I realized that I can‘t possibly choose because they‘re all so good! You can read an excerpt of the story Gubeikou Spirit on Electric Lit

https://electricliterature.com/gubeikou-spirit-by-te-ping-chen/

51 likes3 stack adds
review
Megabooks
post image
Pickpick

Truly awesome collection of stories featuring people in China and the Chinese diaspora. I was delighted that she took stories in unexpected directions. I love when authors take that opportunity, which I feel is easier in short form. The title story, Hotline Girl, Field Notes on a Marriage, and On the Street Where You Live have kept me thinking, which is one of the highest compliments I can pay. She works very well with moral ambiguity.

Megabooks Finished by headlamp, obviously! 😜 3y
BarbaraBB Great picture! 3y
92 likes3 stack adds3 comments
blurb
Megabooks
post image

Sunday #bookmail! 👍🏻📚

Reviewsbylola Very pretty! 3y
Megabooks @Reviewsbylola I love this cover. I‘m going to crack in when I finish my bookspin bingo. 👍🏻 going through a short story phase. 3y
91 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
Rehesina
post image
Pickpick

Thank you, #NetGalley for this #ARC! This book was actually fantastic!
These stories messed with my emotions and made me any to rescue some of the characters. The author also made me realise how common all our workplace experiences are now
especially when it comes to client support; we pick our favorites based on basic human decency shown to us. But, that's my own crisis

YOU SHOULD REALLY READ THIS!