This is a collection of short stories all of which are set in China.

I enjoyed a number of them but with a number of them, I was left wondering what was going to happen next and felt like they could have been longer. My favourite was the last story about a group of passengers trapped for some time in a train station.

Nice collections of short stories, vignettes of life in China or snapshots of Chinese people's life outside China.
Some are realistic, some are surreal, altogether very entertaining (I loved the last one!)

Although, overall, the stories were absolutely my cup of tea, engaging and intriguing, and the writing was more of a slow build to the characters and plot, I would have enjoyed a deeper insight into China, its culture and people.

Te-Ping Chen writes an outstanding and multilayered collection of short stories that provide insights into the most populous nation on earth, modern China, its history, culture, social and political aspects. Beautifully written, painting with broad brushstrokes, she gives us a picture of flawed individuals in the richly diverse, wide ranging tales that show the contemporary Chinese realities, the personal and the political, and deploys elements of magical realism. We have a created strange and fantastical fruit, experienced differently but positively by people, until this changes. We have twins, a brother and sister, taking different paths and approaches to their lives, with the brother getting concerned about her political activism and her posts on social media. A woman leaves her home, escaping her boyfriend, to chase her dreams, only to end up in a call centre, with the boyfriend tracking her down.

The Land of Big Numbers illustrates the complex relationship between people, their dreams, hopes and desires, with a controlling government. The stand out story for me was the madness represented by the offbeat Gubeiko Spirit, where a group of people are trapped in a station, thanks to government regulations. The author captures the daily lives, the melodrama, the resilience, the limitations and progress experienced by those who live in China, underlining the universality of being human and all that connects us. There is the desperation, pain, disappointment, and the battle to survive, and the historical hardships and poverty. This is an illuminating and thought provoking collection of short stories that I loved, the only reason it gets 4 stars is that some of the stories left me wanting more. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for an ARC.

2 ½ stars

With the exception of the first two stories in this collection, 'Lulu' and 'Hotline Girl', I wasn't all that taken by Land of Big Numbers. What I most appreciated is Te-Ping Chen's ability to vividly render contemporary China. The stories in this collection will certainly give readers insight into Chinese and modern work culture, the everyday realities of young Chinese men and women, as well as exploring class and generational divides. In the first story, 'Lulu', a young man who is into gaming becomes increasingly concerned over his sister's involvement in protests and activities criticising the Chinese government. In the following story 'Hotline Girl' (the title reminds me of a certain song) a young woman who works at a government call centre is contacted by her abusive ex. While these first two stories felt complete and well-realised the remaining 8 easily blur together. One is about an addictive fruit, another one is about an inventor whose creations more often than not flop, we have a few exploring marriages or romantic relationships but in a way that never brought me close to the characters. I wasn't drawn in by them or, to be perfectly honest, by the author's writing style. We have some strained metaphors ("She felt the years deep beneath her skin, as thought Shanghai had grafted steel plates in her cheeks", the layers of a croissant are compared to the "underbelly of a sea creature gently exhaling"). Many of the characters were flat, their conversations uninteresting, their motives unconvincing.
Still, I recognise that many other readers will find this collection to be more satisfying than I did. I guess I have almost 0 interest in stories about stock markets or people who do not care for food or dislike "Mediterranean" food (what can I say, my Italian feathers were ruffled).

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a collection of 10 short stories based in China or it's former citizens.
I was extremely impressed with the writing style and the diversity of the stories. No two were alike. I especially liked the opposing views of the different generations.
I definitely recommend this collection and look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to Netgalley uk and Simon and Schuster uk for an arc copy of this ebook.