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.
Critic Reviews
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Favorable
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San Francisco Chronicle Sarah Coleman
Though always entertaining, [Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch] lacks the finesse and control that distinguished Sijie's earlier work.
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Favorable
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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.
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Favorable
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Daily Telegraph Phil Baker
A significant book, as well as an eccentric one.
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Favorable
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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.
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Favorable
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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."
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Favorable
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Chicago Tribune Susan Hall-Balduf
Sijie's story meanders sweetly through Muo's bizarre travels and absurd tribulations. [31 Jul 2005]
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Favorable
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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]
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Favorable
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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.
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Mixed
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Boston Globe Richard Eder
A novel that often seems to escape from itself as well as from the reader.
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Mixed
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Kirkus Reviews
Sijie's latest is a very rickety construction. Nevertheless, it will very probably be another reading group sensation.
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Mixed
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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]
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Mixed
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The Guardian Toby Litt
Mr Muo's Travelling Couch doesn't reach its intended destination.
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Unfavorable
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The Onion A.V. Club Tasha Robinson
Dense, busy, and unsatisfying.
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Unfavorable
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Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese
Whimsical to the point of being nonsensical.
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