A very mixed bag, then. But as the only anthology of its kind currently available, well worth a look.
Both ideology and art are served, with varying results, in this nonetheless interesting collection of 21 stories by 19 Chinese writers, most of them little known or unknown in the West.
Though the balance of the stories were written since 1970, the shadows of Mao’s Cultural Revolution and a long history of repressive regimentation are visible on virtually every page. And though editor Li-Qun’s brief introductory remarks call attention to “Character-led [as opposed to narrative-driven] fiction,” the volume contains such undistinguished work as his own flaccid account of a young London woman’s dream of performing in Chinese opera (“From Beijing Opera”); Wang Ceng-qi’s shapeless portrayal of relationships among primary school teachers and staff (“Big Chan”); and Shi Tie-sheng’s “Fate,” a discursive autobiographical speculation on the role chance plays in human affairs. There are interesting characterizations in “Hong Taiti,” Cheng Nai-shen’s wistful tale of a gracious, compassionate woman humbled by the Revolution, and Chen Shi-xu’s “The General and the Small Town,” whose eponymous protagonist maintains his dignity and courage throughout the havoc wreaked by shifting political winds. Even better are Feng Ji-cai’s “The Tall Woman and Her Short Husband,” about a devoted couple ruined by malicious gossip and false allegations of treason, and Cai Ce-hai’s briskly told “The Distant Sound of Tree-Felling,” in which an elderly carpenter’s stubborn conventionality threatens the happiness that his long-suffering daughter and compliant apprentice seem destined for. Best of all are two stories by the gifted Su Tong (known here for such memorable fiction as Raise the Red Lantern and Rice). His “Cherry” is a beautifully developed (if unsurprising) ghost story, and “Young Muo” is a tragicomic fabliaux about an egoistic doctor’s son; both deftly display this underrated writer’s absolute mastery of narrative economy and realistic detail.
A very mixed bag, then. But as the only anthology of its kind currently available, well worth a look.Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-70093-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Vintage
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2001
Sneering tone and choppy style mar this first novel, set in Sydney, from Australian author Moriarty.
Meet the Kettle sisters: 33-year-old triplets.
Gemma, Cat, and Lynne had the childhood from hell, thanks to their battling parents, and they still haven’t decided what they want to be when they grow up—if they grow up. They haven’t forgiven Mum and Dad and they can’t forget, for example, their sixth birthday party, when their father lit a firecracker and blew his finger off (it was preserved in Formaldehyde as a gruesome memento of the occasion). How ironic: it was his ring finger—an apt symbol of an explosive marriage. Some years later, after their parents’ divorce, the sisters leave home to confront hard truths about life and love. Family secrets and garden-variety troubles are trotted out in no particular order: Mum’s miscarriage. Frail but feisty granny. Unfaithful husbands and useless boyfriends. Happy ending? Oh, why not.
Sneering tone and choppy style mar this first novel, set in Sydney, from Australian author Moriarty.Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-06-058612-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2004
Though extension is possible, make no mistake about it; this is a ward and not a microcosm.
This is a book which courts the dangers of two extremes.
It can be taken not seriously enough or, more likely, critical climate considered, too seriously. Kesey's first novel is narrated by a half-Indian schizophrenic who has withdrawn completely by feigning deaf-muteness. It is set in a mental ward ruled by Big Nurse—a monumental matriarch who keeps her men in line by some highly original disciplinary measures: Nursey doesn't spank, but oh that electric shock treatment! Into the ward swaggers McMurphy, a lusty gambling man with white whales on his shorts and the psychology of unmarried nurses down to a science. He leads the men on to a series of major victories, including the substitution of recent issues of Nugget and Playboy for some dated McCall's. The fatuity of hospital utilitarianism, that alcohol-swathed brand of idiocy responsible for the custom of waking patients from a deep sleep in order to administer barbiturates, is countered by McMurphy's simple, articulate, logic. This is a thoroughly enthralling, brilliantly tempered novel, peopled by at least two unforgettable characters. (Big Nurse is custom tailored for a busty Eileen Heckert.)
Though extension is possible, make no mistake about it; this is a ward and not a microcosm.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1962
ISBN: 0451163966
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1961
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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