re-education", and within the years of "1968-1975, some twelve million youths were 'rusticated'." Dai Sijie's past Dai himself was re-educated, and "spent the years between 1971 and 1974 in the mountains of Sichuan Province". He emigrated to France in 1984. Publication history Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress has been translated from the original French. The novel was first published in France in the French language" in 2000, and since then, rights of the book have been sold in nineteen countries. The English translation of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Ina Rilke was published by the company in 2001 Knopf and has been praised for its clarity." The Chinese version of the novel is available online. In 2001, this novel was also made into the film with Dai as its director. All the dialogue in the film uses the Sichuan dialect. Reception The book received reviews related to its "warmth and humor." It has been stated as well that the novel "abound[s] in gentle humor, warm bonhomie and appealing charm" in Time Europe. The novel has likewise been seen as an emotional tale. Jeff Zaleski has reviewed Balzac as a "moving, [and] often wrenching short novel". Dai Sijie has been praised as a "captivating, amazing, storyteller" whose writing here is "seductive and unaffected". In a San Jose Mercury News article, the novel is described as one that will resonate with the reader. Topics covered in the book—to do with the Cultural Revolution—have been elaborated on and reviewed. Dai Sijie, as "an entertaining recorder of China's 'ten lost years'," addresses the Cultural Revolution. It is seen by some as "a wonderfully human tale" and relatable. The ending of the novel has received some positive attention. The ending has a "smart surprising bite" says a Library Journal article. In Publishers Weekly, the conclusion is described as "unexpected, droll, and poignant". The story itself is seen as unprecedented, "not another grim ... tale of forced labor." Also popular, it has been described as a "cult novel", and was a bestseller in France in the year 2000. However, there have been negative reviews. Brooke Allen of The New York Times Book Review states that the novel is "worthwhile, but unsatisfactory" and that the epithets for most of the characters "work against the material's power." In addition, the novel has received complaints from Chinese government officials in its portrayal of the Cultural Revolution.