During the Cultural Revolution a number of “barefoot doctors” were sent to the countryside. These were people with minimal medical training, but who were often experts in traditional Chinese medicine and the use of herbs. The author was one such barefoot doctor and her account of what this experience was like comes to life in this fascinating, and mostly readable, book. Mrs Yi lives with her husband in a remote village where she gathers herbs, makes her ointments and potions and does her best to heal her fellow villagers. She hopes to train a successor and indeed two local young people are eager to learn from her. She is often successful in curing a number of illnesses and diseases and when she can’t then she offers spiritual comfort to her patients and accompanies them on their final journey. Up to a point I really enjoyed the book, but as the narrative continues it becomes more and more surreal and elements of magic realism predominate, sometimes leaving me confused, as the line between the living and the dead becomes more porous. The nature of reality is questioned and the connection with the dead isn’t always easy to decipher. By then I’d lost interest to a large extent and found the story far less relatable than when it was about daily life, the collecting of herbs, the healing of the sick, the relationships between the villagers. So only a partial success for me, although I was glad to learn about this aspect of Chinese medicine.

i read this e-arc back in the summer of last year but unfortunately couldn't finish it before it was archived, and it's been a while since i've read it so i don't remember all the details but i do remember absolutely loving it! i remember that i especially loved seeing mrs. yi do her work as a barefoot doctor. perhaps the part i loved the most about this novel was the beautiful writing, i do not know how i would describe it but i do know that it was absolutely amazing.
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully poignant and evocative. The magical realism and supernatural elements just adds to the beauty of this book. Profound.

"It was only after getting old that they started paying attention to their health. Some of them took a turn for the better. The only thing others could do was change their attitude toward aging and live in peace with disease, as though they were living with friends"

Mrs Yi is a powerful woman. Barefoot doctor to the village, mentor to a few, friend to many. Through this novel, Can Xue, a real life barefoot doctor, takes the reader on a journey through the power of nature and the spiritual world on the world we live in. The story is delivered in such a way that the reader becomes fully engulfed in the unlikely, yet almost possible, impact of the unknown on every day life, including illness and healing.

"Illness hits me like an avalanche and then subsides, like spinning silk."

This non-fiction tale is a short delight filled with varying view points that challenge the reader to reflect on their own reality and open up their mind to the possibilities of exploring the unknown. It plays on the mysticism often associated with traditional Chinese medicine and combines it with a respectful play on the western lens of the power of the 'other' when it comes to healing.

As medicine and illness remains such an ongoing challenge and journey with no certainties in life, Can Xue masterfully captured the delight and enthusiasm experienced when exposed to the ever-growing possibilities for a healthier and better future.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc.

What a fascinating read. Magical realism is not what I expected but is the closest thing I can come up with in attempting to describe what seems, in ways, like a simple tale of village life. Barefoot Doctor left me curious about reading Can Xue’s other writing and enchanted by each and every character as they navigate love, loss, aging, and nature unfolding around and through them.

Barefoot Doctor by Can Xue seems like the simple story of a village healer and her community, and I understand it is informed by the author's own experiences. We meet the Barefoot Doctor Mrs Yi and several of her patients as well as two young people who hope to follow in her footsteps, and learn what she knows about the herbs she spends hours on the mountainside gathering for use in treating the various ailments of the locals. I enjoyed this part of the book but as the story unfolded the author introduced some supernatural elements that I didn't like quite as much, and as this side of the story took more of the focus I found myself enjoying the book less.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I liked this even though I didn't enjoy the supernatural elements as much as I would have liked. But that's my problem, and I suspect others will actually enjoy those aspects. Fables are my favorite, so I think choosing this was my mistake, even though it's good overall.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

Interesting and informative….. A profound, poignant story of a village healer and her community, from one of the world’s great contemporary novelists

I am unable to review this as the publisher archived the book way before the publication date and without any prior notice.

I love Can Xue. Her stories are rich with imagery. I will continue reading all of the books that get translated into English. There is a rural purity to her work. Small country villages. Lots of atmospheric detail. Rich sensation

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a consolatory fable set in a small village called Yun at the foot of the Niulan Mountain. It seems realist, if without a time setting, at first but the more we read, the more we realise this is actually more akin to a fairy story for adults as Mrs Yi uses her 'inspiration' to find herbal remedies for the ailments, both physical and emotional, of the inhabitants.

There's an increasingly spiritual register, though this never becomes pompous or preachy, and is closer to Buddhist than traditional Western religion, especially in the way everything is connected and the boundaries between flowers, animals, human and the landscape become increasingly porous, as do the categories of life and death.

In some ways, this is a counterweight to Otessa Moshfegh's recent :'Lapvona': that is a pessimistic fable set in a mock-medieval theatre set which exposes the timeless inhumanity of people, the entrenched power differentials and inherent injustices which may have different names in history but which are apparently self-sustaining - in Can Xue's take, there are pleasures and joy in simple things: community, flowers, a roasted sweet potato, family, and the fundamental unity of life even in death.

I found parts of this book really charming and other parts overly creepy. I wish a lot less supernatural elements were included. The storyline and the characters were great. The dialogue a bit quaint at times (as you might expect from a translation) but I liked it. The translation on the whole was good. Would have enjoyed it a lot more without the ghosts, voices, and other creepy things.

What an enjoyable and thought provoking story leaving me loads of food for my thoughts.. I really liked it more than I thought I would.