![]() ![]() ![]() Wang will be answering questions at the 7 p.m. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers presents readers with a stunning vision ofChina, past and present. Shi leaves Yilan's house and sets out on another journey, notebook in hand, through America. ![]() As befitting a literary adaptation, there is a literal as well as metaphorical wall between them that never quite disappears, but does seem to recede in the distance as Mr. Yilan's inexpressiveness also frustrates, as she would escape alone into a movie theater than try to explain her life to her father. Shi becomes a darker figure as he castigates his daughter for failing to provide him a grandson. The film ultimately is about the failure of a father and daughter to connect. Like Wang's previous films, "A Thousand Years" has a jangly, improvisational tone, with nuanced moments of humor and pathos. Shi's eyes, in all its banal glory as he makes his way around with a limited English vocabulary and an ever-present notebook. We see the generic American suburban landscape of an unnamed city through Mr. Shi, an older Chinese man who travels to America to see his 30ish divorced daughter, Yilan, played by Faye Yu. Two of the stories were adapted into films: the title story and The Princess of Nebraska, both directed by Wayne Wang. It is the author's first book of fiction. This modest and lovely film is a welcome reprieve after the explosion-filled slate of summer movies. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is the debut short story collection by Yiyun Li. ![]()
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