Description
Sounds of the River is a coming-of-age story about a teenager named Da Chen who moves to Beijing to attend university. Da Chen faces many challenges, including poor living conditions, lack of food, and suicidal roommates, but he never gives up and continues to try to learn English and "all things Western." The story is written in a poetic and humorous way and is a great coming-of-age story.
In this "equally beguiling sequel to his acclaimed memoir, Colors of the Mountain" (Kirkus Reviews), teenager Da Chen takes his first train ride away from the farm he was raised on to his new university life in Beijing. He soon faces a host of ghastly challenges, including poor living conditions, lack of food, and suicidal roommates. Undaunted by these hurdles, and armed with a dogged determination to learn English and "all things Western," he competes to win a chance to study in America -- a chance that rests in the shrewd and corrupt hands of the almighty professors. Poetic, hilarious, and heartbreaking,
Sounds of the River is a gloriously written coming-of-age saga that chronicles a remarkable journey -- a travelogue of the heart.