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Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch
A Novel
by Dai Sijie
The China-born author of the bestseller "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" returns with an absurdist, Don Quixote-esque second novel about a Chinese psychoanalyst who must scour the country for a virgin maiden--the unlikely price of freeing his beloved from prison.
Knopf, 304 pages
06/07/2005
$22.00
ISBN: 1400042593
Fiction
General Literature & Fiction
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Sarah Coleman
Though always entertaining, [Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch] lacks the finesse and control that distinguished Sijie's earlier work.
The New York Times Book Review Christopher Atamian
[Sijie] deftly establishes a sense of intimacy between the reader and his scholarly hero, adding depth and complexity to Muo's increasingly doubt-filled quest.
Daily Telegraph Phil Baker
A significant book, as well as an eccentric one.
The Spectator Harriet Sergeant
The great virtue of [Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch] is its irrelevance. China inspires didactism and earnestness in most writers. But here all is black humour, satire and even frivolity.
Washington Post Elinor Lipman
We keep reading Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch for its voice and wit, for the delicious turns of phrase and perfect characterizations of a naif with professional pretensions inside a "poor dreamy and dream-interpreting head."
Chicago Tribune Susan Hall-Balduf
Sijie's story meanders sweetly through Muo's bizarre travels and absurd tribulations. [31 Jul 2005]
Los Angeles Times Irene Wanner
Some of these escapades are wonderful fun -- consulting an old medicine man in a panda preserve, escaping a mental institution after Muo is mistaken for a madman -- but other story lines lead nowhere. [24 Jul 2005, p. R6]
TLS: The Times Literary Supplement Sam Thompson
[Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch] novel is Pninian in its good-natured sadness; an energetic comedy of exile that knows exile can continue once you are home.
Boston Globe Richard Eder
A novel that often seems to escape from itself as well as from the reader.
Kirkus Reviews
Sijie's latest is a very rickety construction. Nevertheless, it will very probably be another reading group sensation.
Library Journal Barbara Hoffert
[Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch] is not really a picaresque tale; it's too melancholy. It's also not quite as satisfying as [Sijie's] sparkling Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. [1 Jun 2005, p. 116]
The Guardian Toby Litt
Mr Muo's Travelling Couch doesn't reach its intended destination.
The Onion A.V. Club Tasha Robinson
Dense, busy, and unsatisfying.
Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese
Whimsical to the point of being nonsensical.
 The average user rating for this book is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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