this book is about reeducation in china during the time of Mao (is that the dude's name? i think so...) anyways, these city boys go up to the mountains to be "re-educated" and in their time in the mtns they come across a hidden suitcase full of western novels that have been translated into chinese.... the book kind of leads you in to the power that stories have to change us or cause us to grow and blossom, blah blah, yada yada... it's kind of hard to describe or talk about fo some reason, buti really did enjoy the book and it was a very fast read... i really like fiction set in history where i can learn more about places and times, etc... yeah....