Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a very complex book with many hidden and double meanings. The book is based on the Little Seamstress and how she reacts to many aspects of life. Although she was introduced later in the novel, she is one of the main characters. The purpose of the seamstress in the story is that she is the main reason why Luo and the narrator wake up in the morning. Almost everything they do revolves around her and Dai Sijie makes this very apparent throughout the novel.

The story, although set during the Cultural Revolution of China, is not really about the reign of Chairman Mao. It is about the seamstress and how she responds to the many actions of the two boys. The story begins when both Luo and the narrator were taken from their homes in order to be re-educated because everyone...