What a romp! Travel along with Mr. Muo, China's only registered psychoanalyst as he seeks a virgin in China to offer as a bribe to a crooked judge, in order to free his friends, "The Embalmer" and "Volcano of the Old Moon" from wrongful imprisonment. Along the way, you will roar with laughter at the dry wit of the author as he offers such tidbits as popular children's songs from the Revolutionary Re-Education period which laud the joy of Communism. Also, enjoy the dream analysis offered by our Mr. Muo as he takes his office on the road. Step into the inner dream and fantasy world of Mr. Muo, whose training in France has enhanced his openness to his own stream of consciousness........Marvelous! ( )

What a strange little book! I felt like I was struggling my way through it at times, only to look up and notice that 30 pages had passed by. It was wordy at times, but it was okay. I truely was interested in it because I LOVED Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress. This book didn't measure up for me, but it was alright. That's about all I have to say about it..... ( )

A look at psychiatry in China. The comic misadventures of French trained Chinese psychiatrist who returns home to recue his love. Psychiatry at odds with the encounters Mr Muo experiences. Didn't work for me and not in the same street as "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress." ( )

Sijie's first novel, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, is about finding hidden beauty in the midst of oppression. Mr. Muo's Traveling Couch, set in commercial boom of modern-day Chengdu, is about the moral depravity lurking on the other side of freedom. When Muo's college sweetheart is imprisoned for political reasons, he returns from Paris to secure her freedom. When the judge demands a night with an adolescent virgin, Muo is initially optimistic that he can find one...but the China of 2006 is not the China Muo left behind, as he discoveres when woman after woman tells him of selling her love for a job or a ticket away from her village. Sijie is a master of show-don't-tell storytelling and the book never loses its comic tone even as desperation leaves Muo as corrupt as the judge he seeks to bribe. This hidden depravity is what I think Sijie wants us to see about China -- that beneath the veneer of economic freedom, the old order of things remains untouched; without the freedom to fight back, every day people become complicit in its evil. ( )

Had great expectations for this book - after reading Balzac & The Little Chinese Seamstress a few weeks ago - and was somewhat disappointed.

The plot, the quest and adventures as we went along was interesting. It falls short towards the final few pages where it seem hurried - wanting to wrap things up. I lost interest towards the final 50 pages or so.

Nevertheless, the book has such beautifully written prose (via translation from French). Reading it was a delight. ( )