Another sample answer:
what book it was
Dream of the Red Mansions, written in the 18th century, is undoubtedly one of the most distinguishable classical novels of Chinese literature. The story has been made into numerous mini series and TV operas.
when you read it
I have read it (the Chinese version) several times, and have it handy in my palm in case I want to read it. I think I read it the first time when I was in middle school and it was kind of difficult (yes because of the huge number of characters and the sub-plots and so on). But then it got easier and easier. You have to read it and know the stories and the poems because they are so frequently quoted.
why you read it
I deeply love the romance between the characters, that’s why I read it that often. I don't know much about the English version but it'd be definitely difficult to translate this novel into any other languages. I wonder how one can translate the puns which expressed some deeper meaning, or probably the best way is to skip it or giving some footnotes (which will ruin the novel).
And explain what you liked about the book
The main character is Baoyu (寶玉), and his love interest is his cousin Daiyu (黛玉), who is the daughter of his aunt (father's sister). Baoyu finally marries another cousin Baochai (寶釵). Baoyu, before he comes to this world, was a rock/jade, and Daiyu a plant. The rock used to water the plant. So Daiyu has to pay back the debt to Baoyu with all her tears in this life. (How romantic.) The poems I like best are the two which foretell their fates in Baoyu's dream.
And the scene before Daiyu dies, when she buries the fallen flowers, is very very very famous, called "黛玉葬花".
And there's another famous poem called 紅豆詞, which has been made into a song. Just the other day I was listening to it at a fashion boutique .
I could go on and on.
what book it was
Dream of the Red Mansions, written in the 18th century, is undoubtedly one of the most distinguishable classical novels of Chinese literature. The story has been made into numerous mini series and TV operas.
when you read it
I have read it (the Chinese version) several times, and have it handy in my palm in case I want to read it. I think I read it the first time when I was in middle school and it was kind of difficult (yes because of the huge number of characters and the sub-plots and so on). But then it got easier and easier. You have to read it and know the stories and the poems because they are so frequently quoted.
why you read it
I deeply love the romance between the characters, that’s why I read it that often. I don't know much about the English version but it'd be definitely difficult to translate this novel into any other languages. I wonder how one can translate the puns which expressed some deeper meaning, or probably the best way is to skip it or giving some footnotes (which will ruin the novel).
And explain what you liked about the book
The main character is Baoyu (寶玉), and his love interest is his cousin Daiyu (黛玉), who is the daughter of his aunt (father's sister). Baoyu finally marries another cousin Baochai (寶釵). Baoyu, before he comes to this world, was a rock/jade, and Daiyu a plant. The rock used to water the plant. So Daiyu has to pay back the debt to Baoyu with all her tears in this life. (How romantic.) The poems I like best are the two which foretell their fates in Baoyu's dream.
And the scene before Daiyu dies, when she buries the fallen flowers, is very very very famous, called "黛玉葬花".
And there's another famous poem called 紅豆詞, which has been made into a song. Just the other day I was listening to it at a fashion boutique .
I could go on and on.