How long does it take to read To Live?
To Live by Hua Yu takes about 4 hours 35 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 4 hours 35 minutes
A weekend read
First published 2003. 250 pages, about 68,750 words.
10 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 7 hours 38 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 4 hours 35 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 2 hours 52 minutes |
The page count is the median across 3 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
An award-winning, internationally acclaimed Chinese bestseller, originally banned in China but recently named one of the last decade's ten most influential books there," "To Live tells the epic story of one man's transformation from the spoiled son of a rich landlord to an honorable and kindhearted peasant. After squandering his family's fortune in gambling dens and brothels, the young, deeply penitent Fugui settles down to do the honest work of a farmer. Forced by the Nationalist Army to leave behind his family, he witnesses the horrors and privations of the Civil War, only to return years later to face a string of hardships brought on by the ravages of the Cultural Revolution. Left with an ox as the companion of his final years, Fugui stands as a model of flinty authenticity, buoyed by his appreciation for life in this narrative of humbling power.
Subjects: Fiction, History, Young men, Fiction, historical, China, fiction
