It's a great book that reminds me strongly of Kurt Vonnegut. He captures the absurdity of Chinese political corruption. That said, half-way through I couldn't take the ongoing juxtaposition of the lecherous official with his constant texting of pornographic poems with his dozen mistresses and the stark violence afflicted by the state on common people. I understand this was the point, the story told through his lens, his detached, transactional attitude in the face of large scale industrial cruelty, especially his ongoing flashbacks from the current Chinese capitalist 'dream' to his memories of the Maoist Cultural Revolution - but after awhile I couldn't stomach it. It's a well-done book but perhaps not for all readers.