The principal topics appear to be the loathsomeness of Maoist and post-Mao China and the misery of most Chinese.
Stay positive and you will find your Toyota. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is a series of short stories, mostly set in modern China but with at least one (as far as I got) set in America. “And there is a Toyota wherever there is a road.” The second line of Toyota’s commercial slips out before Granny realizes it. A father provides his daughter with the first images of a man in a woman's life and, as a result, shade the feelings they have about the. It bring to mind the character driven and slow unspooling of his 1989 film Eat a Bowl of Tea.
“There is always a road when you get into the mountain,” Auntie Wang, Granny Lin’s neighbor, says to her upon being informed of Granny Lin’s situation. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is directed by Wayne Wang based on a collection of immigrant stories by Yiyun Li. For how long, the factory has no further information to offer. And, mind this, Granny Lin’s pension is being withheld only temporarily. “Internal reorganization” is what has been kindly omitted in the certificate. “Bankrupt” is the wrong word for a state-owned industry. Of course it will not provide such information, for these facts are simply not true. It does not say that Red Star Garment Factory has gone bankrupt or that, being honorably retired, Granny Lin will not receive her pension. “Hereby we confirm Comrade Lin Mei is honorably retired from Beijing Red Star Garment Factory,” says the certificate in bright golden characters.
Inside the lunch pail is an official certificate from her working unit. GRANNY LIN WALKS IN THE STREET ON A November afternoon with a stainless steel lunch pail in her hand. One can only wish Yiyun Li many happy returns to her writing desk.” - Providence Journal Li’s stories express an inexpressible joy. “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is not only an outstanding first book of fiction by a young writer, it is a literary event that transcends language. Provocative and memorable fiction that is at once culturally specific and universal.” - Booklist settings are vital and her characters richly complicated. “With great tenderness, tact and humor, these stories open a world that is culturally remote from us, and at the same time as humanly intimate as if its people were our own family and their thoughts the thoughts that lie nearest our own hearts.” -MARILYNNE ROBINSON, author of Gilead and Housekeeping “Complex, moving, and surprising.” - Library Journal (starred review) Li deftly weaves a political message into her human portraits. “A beautifully executed debut collection. “One of the year’s most auspicious debuts.” - San Jose Mercury News
Read this book and marvel at a writer both at the height of her powers and at the start of a brilliant career.” -ELIZABETH Download or stream A Thousand Years Of Good Prayers (2009) with Henry O, Vida Ghahremani, Pavel Lychnikoff for free on hoopla. With wit, ruthlessness, and an understanding of human nature-its grand follies, private sorrows, and petty dreams- A Thousand Years of Good Prayers may remind you of Flannery O’Connor, though Li is an original. Upcoming releases include ABOUT ENDLESSNESS, Roy Andersson’s visually stunning Venice Best Director winner visionary comic book writer/artist/filmmaker Dash Shaw’s vibrant, fantastical animated feature CRYPTOZOO Radu Jude’s Berlin Golden Bear-winner BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN and Udo Kier hairdresser comedy SWAN SONG.“This extraordinary collection reminds you just how big a short story can be. Recent releases include two-time Oscar nominee COLLECTIVE, Alexander Nanau’s jaw-dropping expose of corruption at the highest levels of government France’s Official Oscar entry and Golden Globe-nominated TWO OF US STRAY, Elizabeth Lo’s debut feature that takes a dog’s eye-view of the streets of Istanbul and the highly-regarded strays that roam them Rodney Ascher’s mind-bending sci-fi ride A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX SOME KIND OF HEAVEN, Lance Oppenheim’s documentary chronicling the surreal world of The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community in Florida ZAPPA, Alex Winter’s unfiltered portrait of the visionary musician and artist THE FIGHT, following a team of scrappy lawyers inside the ACLU as they battle former President Trump’s historic assault on civil liberties JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE, Dawn Porter’s chronicle of the life and career of the legendary civil rights activist and Democratic Representative from Georgia Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s 2018 Cannes Palme d'Or winner and Oscar-nominated SHOPLIFTERS Box office sensation and Oscar-nominated RBG Ruben Östlund’s 2017 Cannes Palme d'Or winner and Oscar-nominated THE SQUARE and Raoul Peck and James Baldwin’s Oscar-nominated I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO. A leading independent film distributor for nearly 20 years, Magnolia Pictures is the theatrical and home entertainment distribution arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, boasting a library of over 500 titles.