Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen is a collection of stories that will have something for everyone and, if you like a variety of styles, a treasure full of gems.

In many single author collections there may or may not be a theme or idea that ties them together but the style or genre will be fairly constant throughout. This book offers a thematic thread (which I think is variable based on what a reader brings to it) that runs through a variety of storytelling modes. 

For those inclined toward political or social ideas, these stories will offer some glimpses into what it is to live in or be an expat from contemporary China. You can then make some connections with social and political thought. If your interest is really about the people, the human beings as human beings, these stories show highs and lows that, while specific to Chinese culture, also speak to our common plights living on this planet. These two (of likely others as well) are woven into compelling stories that will move you, to sadness or anger, to joy or empathy. But they will move you. In other words, these stories speak to both your head and your heart.

If, like me, you keep a book of stories and/or essays at the ready for when you don't have time to dive back into one of the other books you're reading but you want to read something, you will find this an ideal companion. The variety will keep the stories from seeming like they are all variations of the same story being told with different characters.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

The publisher and NetGalley should make it known  prior to requesting a title when the title will only be available as an .acsm file. I am sadly unable to access this file. I requested this because I was interested in reading an own-voices book about Chinese culture and I enjoy short story anthologies.

Land of Big Numbers is haunting in a beautiful, subtle way. Te-Ping Chen manages, in each story in this collection, to create characters that are completely relatable yet grappling with life that is different in communist China or trying to adapt to a completely different approach to life in America. Chen ranges all over the place but addresses common themes that we all deal with, no matter how or where we were raised - generational differences, promises from the government of a better life for future generations, misunderstanding in romantic relationships, the desire for freedom and escape from the life you know. I'm not generally a fan of short story collections, feeling like they often drop you into a person's life with limited backstory and little resolution. But the writing here was so beautiful and the underlying themes and messages so thought provoking that I stretched this out and savored it, trying to limit myself to one story a day and then thinking about how it made me feel. Bravo!

Having just read Wild Swans, which I find one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking memoirs I've ever read, I was really looking forward to Land of Big Numbers, and I was pleasantly surprised. This is a collection of short stories, all of which from different perspectives, but all confronting what it means to be men and women in modern China. The book was lovely, melancholic, and made me feel empathy for the messiness of what it's like so far away on the other side of the world. Te-Ping Chen is a truly accomplished writer, and really put together a beautiful book. 

4 out of 5 stars for Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen.

I am not a fan of short stories but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've never been to China or any Asian country but have always been fascinated with this part of the world and so found this book very, very interesting.  I highly recommend reading this book.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download this to my IPAD. I will look forward to reading this book at another time through another means perhaps when it is published.

Te-Ping Chen's "Land of Big Numbers" is a collection of short stories about people in both modern-day China and Chinese people living abroad. A number of the stories in Land of Big Numbers definitely pushed into the magical realism realm, and it presents a setting and a series of characters that are a welcome difference from the fiction I have been reading lately. I really liked how Chen's, which take place mostly in unnamed urban and rural areas of China, really make the reader think about how globalization impacts all corners of the earth. I really enjoyed this book!

Whether it's written realistically as a slice of life piece or has some fantastical elements, whether it takes place in mainland or abroad, every single one of these beautifully written tales comes pregnant carrying several layers on what it means to live as part of China in the modern-day. Te-Ping Chen has definitely emerged onto the fiction stage with an absolute bang that has definitely put me on the lookout for more from her in what I hope is a not-too-far future.

China is the most populated country in the world, and it has been so but a number of years. So the title is just absolutely fitting.

Obviously, the author focuses in specific stories from a small group of characters in these ten stories. I have to say in advance that I usually like short stories, and collections books with a concept or a link between these short stories, (be it topic, genre, character, plots, atmosphere...) do appeal to me. It is a mixture of plausible every day stories which suddenly have a turn to the weird and melodramatic.

I read at another webpage that the author is a journalist who lives in the USA, and I could feel it so. Her outlook is modern and very urban. I specially liked this aspect in the story about people trapped in an underground station. I linked it to Latin American magical realism. The story of La Autopista del Sur by Julio Cortázar is the biggest reference. In the story of the Argentinian, it was a huge traffic jam which made realistic life stories unravel. I also linked it to Buñuel's movie El discreto encanto de la burgesía, one of my favourite movies every. On it, people cannot leave a house for some reason after a dinner feast.

All these references from the Spanish-speaking world show how I read these short stories. Chinese culture is something foreign to me, so I had to look for referents that spoke to me. After all, and that is my conclusion, people are people, and we all are the same, made of the same materials. Did I catch every cultural reference? Probably not, but I enjoyed the stories all the same. If the author says that events would happen like that, I have no reason to suspect her of lying.

My second favourite story is Lulu. I liked the big contrast between the escapism of a teenager who uses video gaming as a way out to the realism of the twin, who uses the same media to expose corruption in an ever-reaching Communist party who has become cruel, dictatorial, and surrealist, all at the same time. Different paths can be natural responses to the same events.

All in all, I would recommend it to anybody who wants to know about the modern experience of being Chinese, or for somebody who likes literary works in general. Each short story has been taken care of individually. All of them have been beautifully written, and several endings caught me by surprised, which I appreciated a lot.

Just like its characters within the short stories, this book cannot simply be put on one shelf. Multidimensional and poetic, "Land of Big Numbers" is a beautiful collection of short stories which will stick with me for a long time.

I have a very keep academic and personal interest in China and it's culture, so this collection was a full on feast for me. Unlike many other contemporary writers, the author understand that today's China is not confined to its borders, but rather that it's global through its spreading culture and migrants. As I was reading one story a day, I found myself thinking about the particular segment and its characters throughout my day at work and elsewhere, which to me is testament to how good the writing and plot are.

Without revealing anything, I just want to say that my favorites were "Lulu," "Hotline Girl" and "Land of Big Numbers," although it's a close call because actually all 10 were thought-provoking, very entertaining and educational in a subtle way. While I'm not usually one to read short stories, this book was definitely an instant favorite.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Land of Big Numbers is a series of speculative short stories that touch on different aspects of Chinese culture and history, in a very broad scope. Each story is a like a brief vignette the lives of the characters and often end abruptly, leaving you to wonder what will happen to the characters as they move on in their lives. Personal favorites were New Fruit, Land of Big Numbers, and Gubeikou Spirit.

I really enjoyed the speculative aspect of these stories. Each one is a bit different. Some have more obvious connections to an element of Chinese history/government, and others have a more broad insight into the Chinese spirit (if that's one way to put it) and human nature. 

I think some of the elements of Chinese culture can be hard to pick up for someone who is not Chinese, however, the stories all touch on different elements of human nature that can be enjoyed by everyone. 

These stories have a slice of life feel, but in a slightly dark and melancholic way, with a dose of speculative settings. The feel of these stories actually remind me a bit of Makoto Shinkai's anime movies.