"The essential idea behind Calico is, let's talk to the translators... find out what's interesting, what's not being published in English, what's perc"The essential idea behind Calico is, let's talk to the translators... find out what's interesting, what's not being published in English, what's percolating in other parts of the world that we haven't heard about yet. THAT WE MAY LIVE is a collection of speculative Chinese fiction... of unnerving, uncanny, weird stories about urbanization and late capitalism." - Chad Felix of Two Lines Press in this interview.
I've been reading these stories very slowly, just one every few days/weeks or so, since I shelved it next to my computer where I work all the time. They definitely feel like they are in conversation with other works from Asia, particularly South Korea, but that connection may be more about what has been translated vs. what hasn't been.
Sour Meat by Dorothy Tse A surreal story about a stinky brew, also about women's bodies... would have loved some editor or translator notes with some context as it seems intentionally sexual as if it is trying to push boundaries, but what are the boundaries in China, I don't know....
Auntie Han's Modern Life by Enoch Tam "Every time she came home, she felt as if it were to a different house on a different street." garden-keepers cultivating skyscrapers houses that move, houses that are depressed
Lip Service by Zhu Hui Oof! A punchy tale of what a naturally beautiful woman has to be willing to do to stay on top.
The Elephant by Chan Chi Wa Clearly in conversation with "The Elephant Vanishes" by Haruki Murakami, the narrator of this story has a similar emotional experience about an elephant but it has the added layer of living in a state of surveillance.
The Mushroom Houses Proliferated in District M by Enoch Tam Continuing the themes of the earlier story by the same author, it's about the garden keepers and their war with the mushrooms.
A Counterfeit Life by Chen Si'an "He started roaming around every corner of the city, searching for those spots in which people being waited for might fail to show up."
Flourishing Beasts by Yan Ge Are you a [woman] or are you a [beast]?...more
The Poppy War combines the magical school idea (more of a martial arts school) featuring an outsider student, with historical events in China (Song DyThe Poppy War combines the magical school idea (more of a martial arts school) featuring an outsider student, with historical events in China (Song Dynasty, Japanese invasion of China,) and a little bit of shamanism. It's the first in a series and I'm not sure I will keep reading as this is so far outside my usual fare, but this author has written an astounding debut at a very young age (I think she is an actual genius.) Thanks to the Sword and Laser book club for pushing me to read a book I wouldn't have otherwise. And this is the longest audiobook I think I've listened to!...more
The spirit of these stories are 21st century Chinese youth with less baggage and more autonomy, whether they are in China (Beijing mostly) or elsewherThe spirit of these stories are 21st century Chinese youth with less baggage and more autonomy, whether they are in China (Beijing mostly) or elsewhere.
This was another story collection from the Tournament of Books longlist.
Ken Liu openly states in his introduction that these stories are selected based on his tastes. There is a variety of some known Chinese science fictioKen Liu openly states in his introduction that these stories are selected based on his tastes. There is a variety of some known Chinese science fiction writers, and some new voices. Most of them were new to me as I'm woefully behind on books like the Three Body Problem, among others. There is also an earlier volume of Chinese science fiction in translation that is probably worth the read.
Not only are there stories in this anthology, but three essays about the current state of Chinese science fiction. I was fascinated to find out that contemporary acceptance of the genre in its home country is very recent, as the genre was widely disregarded up until just a few years ago (and I'm guessing not everyone is on board yet.)
There are some stories focusing on technology in this anthology, but honestly not as many as I would have expected if I'd had to guess. Many are time travel or have time travel components, or are taking a part of known Chinese history and tweaking it, falling almost to alternate history, although sometimes these elements are merely the backdrop. This means you will enjoy the stories even more if you know about Chinese history and aren't just reading them cold. One story had a connection to a well-loved British science fiction novel, a reference even I understood.
I did like how for the most part, these are not just copies or versions of stories from the west. These are inherently Chinese, and I'm so glad to see more of this type of work being translated into English.
Length wise I felt there were too many on the novelette length size, with different numbered sections. Ken Liu must like his stories a bit longer.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to the title through Edelweiss, even though it took me a while to get to. The collection came out in February 2019....more
One of my favorite things to order at our local Chinese restaurant is the scallion pancake. Flaky, greasy, salty, delicious. I could not pass up the cOne of my favorite things to order at our local Chinese restaurant is the scallion pancake. Flaky, greasy, salty, delicious. I could not pass up the chance to try my hand at scallion pancakes from this cookbook! (You can see my attempt at JennyBakes. I felt more successful this time around because there are very helpful step by step photos for the recipes.
Other recipes I am interested in trying: -Dan Dan Noodles with Crispy Pork Belly and Brussels Sprouts -Carrot Coconut Soup -Hot and Sour Borscht -Harvest Moon Curry
I received a copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley....more
The translator for this book had quite the task, because it isn't just the words needing translated, but also a complex family structure and intricateThe translator for this book had quite the task, because it isn't just the words needing translated, but also a complex family structure and intricate layers of meanings behind gestures and comments. But to read a "romance" of sorts set in Shanghai right before the Communist Revolution is a very specific capture of a moment in time. This is its first time in English, and although it was written in the 1970s, it was not published in China until 2009.
It is somewhat challenging to read because of the complex relationship trees, and reminds me of a 19th century novel of manners, but with a new setting, one I am less familiar with. One where loyalties are complicated, love is not always monogamous, and leaving is sometimes the best option. (That's where the title comes from, all the "little reunions" people would have when returning from exile/pilgrimage/escape.)
The central character of Julie shares some characteristics with the author, in that they both had to leave school in Hong Kong when the Japanese invaded during World War II, and they both ended up married to Japanese sympathizers who ended up as traitors.
Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to this title via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The book comes out January 16, 2018....more
I've heard rumors that this book is on May's Book of the Month list, so I wanted to make sure to publish my review asap.
Deming is a child when his moI've heard rumors that this book is on May's Book of the Month list, so I wanted to make sure to publish my review asap.
Deming is a child when his mother disappears, and not too long after, he is adopted by a childless couple in Upstate New York and renamed Daniel. They don't know the whole story of how he became available for adoption, but neither does Deming, and his entire world that he knows is taken from him. This novel traces the story back to how his mother came to be in New York when he was born (because he is, in fact, an American citizen) and everything that happened to the periphery characters in the meantime.
There is a lot to like about this novel. Lisa Ko is not writing the typical "good immigrant" narrative. Deming's mother suffers from many failures, but so does he. Getting adopted does not save him. Being Chinese does not make him good at math. And living in the United States is not necessarily better. I so appreciated the nuance of the different characters, including the white professors who may not be completely sure adopting a child was the right thing to do! There is also a lot of commentary on identity, how being "from China" means different things to different people, how you don't necessarily escape that identity if you look the part, and finding your own path is a universal struggle.
Thanks to the publisher for providing early access to the title through NetGalley....more
It's so interesting to be reviewing this book of lgbt fiction from Taiwan on the same day that Taiwan's top court rules in favor of gay marriage, the It's so interesting to be reviewing this book of lgbt fiction from Taiwan on the same day that Taiwan's top court rules in favor of gay marriage, the first place in Asia to do so. When Qiu Miaojin was alive (she committed suicide at age 26 in 1995), times were different. Being a lesbian was a bit like being a crocodile in human skin (or vice versa), or so the metaphor goes... I think. Am I the one being too literal in my metaphorical interpretation or is it really that direct?
The writing is a bit piecemeal, collected in notebooks, some longing for a woman who can't ever be hers, some reflecting on the crocodiles that are ostracized yet find each other, reportedly seen and then gather in bars (it gets a little weird.) Other parts wax so beautifully about the love interest that I felt I was reading one of Jeanette Winterson's earlier works like Written on the Body.
Thanks to the publisher for access to a copy through Edelweiss....more
I started this book as a review copy eBook, and finished it with the print from the library (which I think we got from the UK based on the cover art.)I started this book as a review copy eBook, and finished it with the print from the library (which I think we got from the UK based on the cover art.)
This book is complex and I really enjoyed it. I suspected it could win the Man Booker Prize based solely on its description, and I was not disappointed. I am a sucker for music discussed in fiction, so the central theme of music really did the trick for me. I discovered only later that many of the characters and events surrounding the conservatory were real events that actually happened! This article from The Guardian delves into some of those details. I was dithering between four and five stars but discovering the depth of research pushed it easily into five stars.
"How had he never noticed, Sparrow thought tipsily, just how deeply music could lie?"
The form of the novel itself seems to be somewhat musical, repeating themes, circling back around to previous events or movements, ending where we begin. It's a symphony. An opera. Something like that. This allows the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, aka "the June 4th incident," to be the climax of the work. The narrative moves between generations, but also between various locations in China and two eras in Canada.
The rural parts of the novel, the small Chinese communities with specific characters, and everyone trying to survive, reminded me of the novels of Mo Yan (recent winner of the Nobel Prize.) I just kept thinking of the spring onions in one of his novels, the last sustaining growing thing. But when it comes to Tiananmen Square, I don't know if I've ever felt such a connection to the growing disillusionment experienced by the Chinese people, and what led to that day.
"The only life that matters is in your mind. The only truth is the one that lives invisibly, that waits even after you close the book. Silence, too, is a kind of music. Silence will last."
Another thread running through the novel is this book of records, a book left by the narrator's father, and the various ways that this carries the details of the stories is best left to the discovery of the reader. I liked the tangent this spun off into and how it came back together in the end.
"We were not unalike, my father and I; we wanted to keep a record. We imagined there were truths waiting for us - about ourselves and those we loved, about the times we lived in- within our reach, if only we had the eyes to see them."
While I felt it was well-researched and covered a wide range of topics that either impact or are impacted by China's One Child policy, I did not partiWhile I felt it was well-researched and covered a wide range of topics that either impact or are impacted by China's One Child policy, I did not particularly enjoy reading this book. But since it was for my book club, I soldiered on.
One big issue is that while I typically enjoy memoir and personal essay, I don't think it worked well for the author to share her own fertility issues and Chinese heritage narrative. She is trying to tie her story to the Chinese story, but I felt it diluted the focus of the book. The power of personal narratives to explain facets of the story came from the people she interviewed, heard about, or saw on international news, in the case of Feng Jianmei (I can only humbly recommend not Google image searching this poor woman who was forced to have a late-term abortion in 2012).
Otherwise, I was most interested in some of the offshoot issues that I had not considered - that most Asian countries have had major reductions in birthrate simply through propaganda and education programs, even China prior to the program had cut birthrate in half; the longreaching impact on the tax base and elder care that China will suffer despite the recent reduction of this policy; the exploration into how much of the international adoption of Chinese girls may have been a result of human trafficking (awful); what happens when men outnumber women 129 to 100.
This reminds me of a weird moment where the author points out moments in history caused by an abundance of men, and she includes the Arab Spring, which made me think she assumed that was a negative event, and now I just feel confused.
We talk sometimes at work about how this increased pressure on each "one child," to succeed not just for themselves but for their two parents and four grandparents, can impact our international students from China. As we've seen an increase of Chinese students, this has become a bigger topic. Mei Fong shows an interesting side to the "one child," that of the "little emperor" - her description of the character studies of Chinese children vs. other Asian children with siblings sounds pretty similar to the stereotypes of Millennials - self-absorbed, seeking approval, but combined with a far lesser collaborative instinct. I'm not sure what to think of studies like this, if they really can effectively show a distinction. But it was interesting just the same.
I can't let this review go by without saying that despite the topic, I was still surprised by some of the graphic detail inside this book. Dead bodies, fetuses, blood. It caught me off guard. I think I expected this to be more philosophical and less biological. I'm not sure why I had that impression, but please consider whether that is content you want to bring into your life before reading. ...more
I received a review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I got it from the publisher through my request in Edelweiss.
I wanted to read I received a review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I got it from the publisher through my request in Edelweiss.
I wanted to read this book because it sounded like an interesting concept. Wang is a taxi driver who starts finding letters above the visor in his cab - letters that detail stories from different eras in China, that the mysterious letter writer claims are stories of a shared past life.
The blurbs compare this to David Mitchell but I find Mitchell to be more of a literary read, with more fully developed separate stories. That isn't to knock Barker, that just isn't what she's done here. There is far more of a focus on the present day, the taxi driver, and stories of his family, his past, his childhood. Sprinkled in are these other narratives that temporarily pull the reader into different dynasties and the Communist revolution, but we always return to Wang.
From my understanding of reincarnation, it would be rare for a pairing such as is described here - two souls who follow one another throughout time. Sometimes lovers, sometimes enemies, sometimes on the periphery. ...more
I like this book slightly less than Dillard's other books because she uses other people's words more than her own. For some people, that might make thI like this book slightly less than Dillard's other books because she uses other people's words more than her own. For some people, that might make this book stronger, but I miss her being the strongest presence. This combines a French philosopher/Jesuit priest who would turn out to be one of the most important paleontologists of the 20th century, Hasidic Judaism, scientific information on sand, and a personal journey through the middle east. But it isn't about those things - the book is really pondering birth, death, existence, value.
"We who breathe air now will join the already dead layers of us who breathed air once. We arise from dirt and dwindle to dirt, and the might of the universe is arrayed against us."
"There were no formerly heroic times, and there was no formerly pure generation. There is no one here but us chickens, and so it has always been: a people busy and powerful, knowledgeable, ambivalent, important, fearful, and self-aware; a people who scheme, promote, deceive, and conquer; who pray for their loved ones, and long to flee misery and skip death. It is a weakening and discoloring idea, that rustic people knew God personally once upon a time - or even knew selflessness or courage or literature - but that it is too late for us. In fact, the absolute is available to everyone in every age. There never was a more holy age than ours, and never a less."
"You can live as a particle crashing about and colliding in a welter of materials with God, or you can live as a particle crashing about and colliding in a welter of materials without God. But you cannot live outside the welter of colliding materials."
"We know we must yield, if only intellectually. Okay, we're a lousy snowflake. Okay, we're a tree. These dead loved ones we mourn were only those brown lower branches a tree shades and kills as it grows; the tree itself is thriving. But what kind of tree are we growing here, that could be worth such waste and pain? For each of us loses all we love, everyone we love. We grieve and leave."
"Ecstasy, I think, is a soul's response to the waves holiness makes as it nears."
This book made me want to read the letters of Teilard and Lucile Swan. ...more
This book was perfection. I was so wrapped up in the second half of it that I forgot to eat dinner!
Five Star Billionaire follows 4-6 characters (depenThis book was perfection. I was so wrapped up in the second half of it that I forgot to eat dinner!
Five Star Billionaire follows 4-6 characters (depending on how you look at it) in very modern Shanghai as they attempt to survive expectations and pull themselves up economically and socially through plain hard work - or through deception, if needed. It's like the "Protestant Work Ethic" without any time for religion, turbo speed.
I appreciated the portrayal of a very modern China. So much of what I read, even from living authors, feels somewhat traditional to the point of old-fashioned. This was a world where a girl might spend the last money on her copycat handbag in hopes that it will help her acquire the new job/boyfriend that will change her life, where people are sitting around eating matcha muffins, sipping lattes and talking on their smartphones. The characters believe in this China, and in their potential to do more, to be more.
"This was China, she told herself. The unfeasible had a habit of being true; she had to believe the unbelievable." (Yanghui)
"This was what life was like in China: Stand still for a moment and the river of life rushes past you. He had spent three months confined to his apartment, and in that time Shanghai seemed to have changed completely.... Everyone in this city was living life at a hundred miles an hour, speeding ever forward; he had fallen behind, out of step with the rest of Shanghai." (Justin)
"She had learned that the appearance of classiness in Shanghai was no guarantee of truthfulness, and she treated all approaches from men with the same caution as she would when shopping for counterfeit luxury goods. China was full of copycat products and people." (Phoebe)
"Shanghai is a beautiful place, but it is also a harsh place. Life here is not really life, it is a competition." (Walter)
The characters cover a wide span of experiences - Phoebe is a migrant worker from Malaysia who does everything she can to erase her past on her way up the ladder; Justin is the only person who can save his family's business; Gary is a pop singer pulled out of obscurity and into the perils of fame; Yinghui is a minorly successful businesswoman without a lot of practical sense. Their stories link together and aren't told exactly in order, but still everything leads up to the very satisfying ending.
I picked this up because it was on the Booker longlist, and I really hope it is included in the shortlist. Very deserving, highly recommended....more
This was the February pick for the Sword and Laser, and I'm glad I read it. It feels more like a translation of a Chinese mythological tale than a novThis was the February pick for the Sword and Laser, and I'm glad I read it. It feels more like a translation of a Chinese mythological tale than a novel written by a guy named Barry in 1984. That's a good thing, in my opinion. It has a lot of the humor found in bizarre characters and nonsensical cultural practices (because of an emperor's whim or fetishization, I am not saying that the Chinese are nonsensical) that I have seen in a lot of *actual* Chinese literature, and Japanese too. The fantasy elements are rampant in mythological beings, some characters who seem to live forever, and situations/people who don't quite follow the laws of nature.
The two main characters become Master Li and Ten Number Ox. Li has been consulted to cure the children from his village who are comatose after a silkworm incident, and they go on a quest for a legendary root. Master Li is quite a character, and always seems to know just enough to pull them into crazy adventures and out. Perhaps that is just his slight flaw?
Much of the story has beautiful imagery, and that adds to a pleasant and quick read....more
Unfortunately for me, most Sichuan dishes involve pork. I don't eat pork. I have a few marked to try - dan dan noodles, fish-fragrant eggplant, and fish-fragrant bean curd. I will need to go to a well-stocked Chinese/Asian market first.
I'd recommend this book to any adventurous carnivorous cook who wants to cook super authentic Sichuan food. She knows what she is talking about and it translates well to the Western kitchen (except perhaps directions to deep fry a fish in a wok, not sure how many people will do that.)
I was surprised when Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, because I had never heard of him. I did a little research and discovered that he once I was surprised when Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, because I had never heard of him. I did a little research and discovered that he once said, "If you like, you can skip my other novels, but you must read Big Breasts and Wide Hips. In it I wrote about history, war, politics, hunger, religion, love, and sex." (Li-Chun Lin, "My Three American Books.") The name was intriguing too, so I tracked down a copy.
I haven't read Steinbeck for years (I'll be getting back to him next year when I finally tackle East of Eden for my California read), but the style of Mo Yan's writing reminds me a lot of Steinbeck. Gritty details, blood, guts, sex, and people barely scraping by an existence. The setting is different, the particular historical events are unique to China (spanning from early 1900s into the 1960s with the famine and beyond), but my mind kept making the comparison.
There are a lot of breasts in this book. It grew tiresome, actually, and the sometimes-narrator of Jintong is even more so. He never really gets accustomed to eating food, and subsists on breast milk even in his 40s. The narration actually goes back and forth between first and third person, and I preferred being told about the story rather than being inside Jintong's head.
Here is the bit from where the title is taken: "My sister's figure had developed rapidly after eating the eel; her breasts were the size of pears, beautifully shaped, and she was surely destined to carry on the glorious tradition of Shangguan women, with big breasts and wide hips."
Oh yes, Jintong spends a lot of energy coveting his sister's breasts. But not in a sexual way as much as a disturbing food-source way. Uncomfortable? Yeah. Try 500+ pages of it!
As usual, I feel like I know far too little about China's history, although I have read that the author takes what works for his story and tweaks the rest. In that sense it isn't historical fiction at all, and sometimes even jumps over into magical realism (one of the sisters turns into a bird, etc.). Most of the book is description and narration, with very little dialogue, meaning that it does pass rather slowly. ...more
I needed a light read in between other reads, and this fit the bill. The author travels to the world's most "Who knew petroleum could be so adorable?"
I needed a light read in between other reads, and this fit the bill. The author travels to the world's most polluted places and pretends as if he could ever think about being a tourist there. He isn't there as an activist. And it's a little weak, but it does tie a few interesting places together. It's the writing that drove me crazy. He writes like he would talk in a casual setting, not leaving out the "you knows" and "hey maybes" - I'm torn as to what I think because it was very easy to read, but surely that wasn't necessary. It made it feel unpolished and the opposite of expert. The really scaled down explanation of nuclear power was almost insulting.
For instance, here is an example of when it was really annoying: "The Steel boom would gather up a bucketful of sand - and we're talking about a bucketful the size of... the size of... hell, I don't know. What's bigger than an Escalade but smaller than a bungalow? Big, okay?"
Not exactly a voice that compels belief and trust.
But then here is an example of the writing when it made me chuckle: "There was something wonderful about the fearsome improbability of the reclaimer's existence. It was the bastard offspring of the Eiffel Tower and the Queensboro bridge, abandoned by its parents, raised by feral tanks."
And I'm not going to lie. Pollution is horrifying, not entertaining. So I'm not sure this worked for me on that level either. The author's insistence that he wanted to see "the rind of beauty that must exist in every uncared-for corner of the world" kind of falls flat when he starts talking about the rainbows in a river of shit. From the perspective of reading around the world, which is something I've been doing since last year, it was interesting to highlight the places damaged by pollution since I've read a lot of damage by war....more
Jenny (Reading Envy)
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