米拉蒂

by Geling Yan

米拉蒂是个女孩的名字。八十年代初，二十岁的米拉蒂从军队文工团转业，她的人生也经历了最关键的转型--从一个被动表演艺术的舞者，转为一个独立思考创作的年轻作家。八十年代初，似乎给米拉蒂带来了一次观念大洗牌：爱情、性、自由、民主.....似乎人们的观念和行为模式在一夜间发生了颠覆性改变，曾经的不可能变成了可能，并且可能性似乎是无限的：婚外恋、一夜情、迪斯科、黑灯舞会、地下出版、画裸体模特......故事围绕米拉蒂的个人经历，见证了中国两代艺术家、作家、知识分子的觉醒和幻灭。八十年代，也是普通中国人告别毛时代，对独立自由等普世价值第一次产生巨大渴望的年代。米拉蒂和她的朋友，他的父辈，首次站在了世界文学和艺术同一地平线上，看到自由思考和表达，自由创作的无限可能性，他们兴奋，振奋，以为他们面前从此就会理所当然展开那些无限的可能性。

而一切却在1989年初夏戛然而止。米拉蒂和父亲米潇先后来到国外。后来米潇的挚友，戏剧家吴可也到国外投奔了他们。这个小群落开始了自由漂泊，自由受穷，但也是自由的创作。他们意识到，八十年代对于中国和中华民族，就像萨克斯博士著名著作《Awakening》中记录的真实现象：1969年，由于一种新药的发明，使一群患了"Sleep disease" 几十年的病人苏醒过来，但不久他们中的多数人，又睡回去了。这种觉醒，仅仅是为了最终的幻灭。中国的知识分子，经历了1989年那次大觉醒的最后痉挛，之后，又都"睡回去了"。

Genres: Fiction, Chinese Literature, China

526 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 2023

About the author

Geling Yan (嚴歌苓) is one of the most acclaimed novelists and screenwriters writing in the Chinese language today and a well-established writer in English. Born in Shanghai, she served with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the Cultural Revolution, starting at age twelve as a dancer in an entertainment troupe.

After serving for over a decade with the PLA (including tours in Tibet and as a war correspondent during the Sino-Vietnam border conflict), Ms. Yan was discharged with a rank equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel. She published her first novel in 1986 and ever since has produced a steady stream of novels, short stories, novellas, essays and scripts. Her best-known novels in English are The Secret Talker, published by HarperCollins; Little Aunt Crane published in the UK by Random House affiliate Harvill Secker; The Flowers of War, published in the U.S. by The Other Press and elsewhere by Random House's Harvill Secker; The Banquet Bug (The Uninvited in its UK edition - written directly in English); and The Lost Daughter of Happiness, (translated by Cathy Silber) both published by Hyperion in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. She has also published a novella and short story collection called White Snake and Other Stories, translated by Lawrence A. Walker and published by Aunt Lute Books.

Many of Geling Yan's works have been adapted for film and television, including internationally distributed films Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (directed by Joan Chen) and Siao Yu (directed by Sylvia Chang; produced by Ang Lee). Chinese director Zhang Yimou made The Flowers of War, a big-budget film based on her work set during the 1937 Rape of Nanking, starring Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale; Coming Home 归来, based on her novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi 陆犯焉识, and One Second 一秒钟, also based on that novel.

Ms. Yan has also written numerous scripts based on her own and other authors' work, both in English and Chinese, including a script for a biopic on the iconic Peking opera star Mei Lanfang for director Chen Kaige (released as Forever Enthralled 梅兰芳) starring Leon Lai and Zhang Ziyi. She wrote the script for Dangerous Liaisons 危險關係, a Chinese-language film directed by South Korean director Hur Jin-ho and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jang Dong Gun and Cecilia Cheung. Her novel Fang Hua 芳华 is the basis a film of the same name (English title Youth) directed by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang 冯小刚. Her novel A City Called Macau 妈阁是座城 was made into a film directed by Li Shaohong 李少红, released in 2018.

Geling Yan a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and of France's Société des Gens de Lettres. She is affiliated with the Hollywood screenwriters' union, Writers' Guild of America, west, and is a former member of the Chinese Writers' Association (中国作家协会).

Geling Yan went to the United States at the end of 1989 for graduate study. She holds a Master's in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. To date she has published over 40 books in various editions in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, the UK and elsewhere; has won over 30 literary and film awards; and has had her work adapted or written scripts for numerous film, TV and radio works. Her works have been translated into twenty-one languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Uyghur, and Vietnamese, and her English-language novel The Banquet Bug/The Uninvited was translated into Chinese. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

She has been subject to an unofficial but effective ban in China since March 2020, when she wrote and promulgated an essay on the Chinese government's initial handling of COVID-19. Her future Chinese-language work will be published by her own publishing company, New Song Media GmbH.

For non-Chinese language publishing she is represented by Agence Astier-Pécher.

Reviews

[Qinyun · Rating 5 out of 5]

之前也读过严歌苓的好几部小说，但从没觉得崇拜她的才华，直到这本《米拉蒂》。大概是个人出版的原因，版权页并无字数标示，我感觉应该在40万字以上。也许是并未校对过，这本书错字、别字和漏字的问题很多。可是小瑕疵完全掩盖不了由作者丰富的人生阅历和对当代史细腻反思所形成的行文中来势汹汹的气势。那种对笔下所涌出文字的自信，那种胸有丘壑般、有我母语写作之处即是祖国的自由感，特别能感染读者。远远超越王安忆的近作。

[Froth on the Daydream · Rating 5 out of 5]

写得太好了，一口气读完，以丑为美已经太久了

[Ran · Rating 5 out of 5]

终于在《小姨多鹤》和《陆犯焉识》之后，又多了一本我会给五星的严歌苓人性史诗。看的时候，像跟着米拉一起成长，变老。很喜欢米潇，还有《章怀寺起义》那一段。

[db67671321 · Rating 5 out of 5]

where is my previous review? trying again:
--
这本书给我的感觉像是决堤的大坝、破土而出的十七年蝉、四通桥的呼喊 - 是严歌苓心中的一股劲儿，现在终于自由奔放地唱了出来。它可能没有作者其他的书那么整整齐齐的美，里面的错字和简单的蜂蜜带来的粗糙感很明显，但书中巧妙的文字让我惊喜，也让我在80年代活了一次。能感觉这本书很private，作者的节奏、呼吸、脚步声都在里面。作家来纽约签售时，很幸运见到了本人，结合她的谈吐和她所关心的问题，更能了解这本书的风格和意图。推荐美国之声的专访。

[Xiaoyan Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

喜欢米拉，自始至终；喜欢出国以后的米潇，活出了自己；喜欢自在仗义，嬉笑怒骂的真巧小姑

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

出版自由带来表达的自由。作者终于写出她想说的东西。作为读者，便能真切感受到不同。八十年代的觉醒和幻灭，放在当下阅读更有意义。

[庆忌 · Rating 4 out of 5]

五天读完，是近几年读最快的这个体量的小说了。被封杀的好处是，确实可以可着自己的心意写了，可以畅所欲言讨论文革了，甚至八九六四都能提一嘴。和余华的《兄弟》相比，好处就是后者只能把后半段荒诞化，而前者就可以认真讨论。但是，不太喜欢米拉和易轫那一段，觉得琼瑶化了。而且，用了太多回忆体。

[Strong Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the book 米拉蒂 by 严歌苓 mainly to support the author after listening to an interview with her on a podcast. This is perhaps her only book that she could write without considering what she can and cannot touch in the story, and she has paid for this freedom by suffering many material losses. However, as I delved into the pages, I discovered a writer who is both funny and insightful.

The characters in 米拉蒂, each traumatized by their times, are portrayed in a way that is both heart-wrenching and amusing. The author captures the weaknesses of human nature and the absurdity of history, evoking a blend of sadness and humor. This book, being the first one she wrote without considering censorship, also raises profound philosophical questions about the nature of true love, the value of art, and the possibility of being truly free when creating artworks.

My takeaway from reading 米拉蒂 is a reflection on the futility of seeking fame, money, lust, and other material rewards in the world of art and literature. When such pursuits become one's focus, one ceases to be a true artist and instead becomes, as the book puts it, "a prostitute," destined for suffering despite achieving those material gains. This theme is poignantly illustrated through the character Xiao Mi/米潇, who only realized this in the last twenty years of his life. He left his country and became a street artist in America and Europe, giving up his luxurious life to live truly free and happy. Even then, he continued to pay the price for marrying a much younger, vanity-seeking wife in his fifties, under the guise of "love."

This book may never reach a wide audience, but in my mind, it is one of the finest novels ever written in Chinese. Perhaps the author has finally learned the value of creating art for the sake of the art itself.

[Jack Hu · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fascinating story that heats deep in ordinary Chinese

Never read any book like this in the past decade, although tbh I am definitely the opposite of an avid reader. This book, the story, the characters in the story, together they painted a vivid set of pictures of the China between late 70s and the first decade of this century. The book hits so many things sealed in my memory and soul that are rarely touched by anything in my life.
I wish it is read by more and more Chinese who care about and love their home country. This book can help heal your soul disrupted by all the unthinkable yet true events happened in the past four decades, or at least it is the case for me.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

和《小姨多鹤》一样，小说是通过两个女人的故事展开的。只是《小姨多鹤》中的两个女人是要在同一个家庭里找到各自的位置和价值。两人之间有进有退，但这个家庭的范围是不变的。因为只有一个男人，所以便只得一个家庭。

《米拉蒂》里的两个女人，米拉和真巧，都并不拘泥于家庭。两个人都没有结婚、没有孩子。两个人都实践了男人和女人的关系并不一定只有亲情和恋爱。有趣的是，除了真巧和米拉，其它的人物似乎也是成对出现的，比如吴可和老米，两位才子在经过无数次运动后活成了两个样，一个渐渐向世俗低了头但最后放了自己自由，另一个挺着花岗岩的脑袋连眼睛都不肯眨至死是个孩子。同样是才子，梁多和小曹算是幸运二人组，没有经过那场运动。两个人先后都靠真巧熬过了苦日子，又在功成名就以后与真巧离散。再比如孙霖露和甄茵莉，老米的前后两任老婆。单看这两个名字的相似度，要说作者没有将她们搓成一对的想法，鬼都不信。两个天差地别的女人，最后倒都活成了一个样，都活成了老米的老婆。男人仿佛是太上老君的炼丹炉，无论是山上的灵芝、还是海底的珊瑚，被婚姻的三味真火一烧，女人都变得斤斤计较、小肚鸡肠、歇斯底里、面目模糊。仿佛天上地下，只这一个男人是宝。何苦呢。

我最喜欢的人物是老米，因为世上确实有“江郎才尽”这种事。从小到大的才子，中年后看到自己才能的上限，他如何能够那样洒脱地坦然面对呢？

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thought that Yan’s best work was pre-陆犯焉识, until I read this book. It was so stunning perhaps because it is her first (?) book that touches on the 1980s China, a time full of transition and trauma and she has numerous experiences and anecdotes to write about. This book further confirms that Yan’s best books are all based on her personal experience. Some minor shortcomings: there may be too much trying to be written so sometimes the detailing is a bit redundant. The new publisher is so inexperienced that there are many obvious errors in the paperback version.

[lonnnnnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

実鬱孖夵：时间尚未沉淀，历史的尘垢不能大白天下，只可意会不能言说，这是每一个朝代必然的现象。诉说历史与用历史诉说，对于时代的亲历者，往往是酒后真言不吐不快。《米拉蒂》是作者个人的艺术化的回忆录，是不是可以这样揣度，真假与否，答案已在追随的读者心里。《芳华》里的军旅生涯，《天浴》里的知青返城，《陆犯焉识》里的亲情悖论，《扶桑》里的化刚的爱，《上海舞男》、《老师好美》里畸态的情爱等等，在这本书里都有影子。

书的密度很大，横跨中外半个世纪，聚焦在米拉蒂割据、合并几度反转变异的家庭成员身上，涉猎事件、生存、自由、理想、爱情。抽掉故事情节，单就音乐、舞蹈、绘画、剧作赏析，也是一道大餐。各种身临其境的情景，如果没有涵厚的文学修养，是无法刻画的。特别是那些有点奇怪的名人的癖好与生活习惯，虽然人人觉知一二，但酒不上头总差那么点感觉。

严的修辞与情感是饱满的老辣的。她在时空里摘语取句，补缀情感，让人物的情态楚楚可人。书中有相当一部分应该是真实的，那样的胆识让人敬佩。

[Gene Zheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

故事是流畅的，最好的地方是抓住李真巧-昏迷，到各种人的过渡，最终到清新自然的海外生活与景观。个人觉得“过渡”这一点可以再多着墨，所谓“美丑”的讨论可以不用作为中心议题。
看到很多原型，比如高行健的经历和吴可，甚至作品如《站台》-《排队》《毛猿》-《野人》都让人想到相似处，画家如陈丹青，常玉，都自然滴联想到他们。李真巧可以由陈冲来演，米拉可以让周迅来演；
文体形式方面没有更多创新，结局疑似有点烂尾，最后应该和易的关系多点笔墨，既有的部分也较为表面，没有那种基于两人的关系而产生的创新性行动；最后又让小说回到了“几十年多少事”这样的境界去，尤其是魏编辑这里像是给伏笔一个结局而没把小说带到更高的地方；
前半部分很像王安忆的调调，尤其是舞会什么的我以为要由盛转衰的路径，但没有；很多地方细节刻画真实，真巧人物刻画出色，对知识分子心境的刻画有点《日瓦戈医生》的调调。
总体来说是一部基调亮丽的悲喜剧。3.5分

[7outta6 · Rating 4 out of 5]

在严歌苓被半禁不禁（一种新出现的打压作家的手法）后，我读了她的这本新书，一读就是半年。这是我的第一本严歌苓。之前有认识的作家评价说，严歌苓越写越工整，是好，但感觉是为电影写作，拿来直接就可以拍电影。虽然没有对比，但我能感觉到这本书没有了那样的工整，时间在这一个围绕米潇更围绕着李震巧的知识分子集团之中变幻无形，除了岁月的经过似乎没有什么主线，就连最后作者自己总结的“80年代精神苏醒”也要到21世纪主角们纷纷离开，才在对照下恍然出现。比起构思设计，这本书可能更来自于本能和冲动，那团不吐不快的火一直在文字下燃烧。而几十在这样的写作中，严歌苓对于短句的使用依然准而妙，她的比喻不用大费周章寻找意向，只需要轻轻拨弄一下词语的属性和位置，就有前所未见的生动描摹，这是我读本书时最强烈的感受。此外，李真巧这个人物，和米拉所说的“丑”，也将摆脱其他内容的遗忘曲线，留在记忆里。

[Citron Pineapple · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only issue is that there are many typos. Besides this, the content itself is brave, humanistic. The discussions and the philosophy of the transition and ugliness are deeply thought-provoking. Must read.

[Czen Trzynski · Rating 5 out of 5]

嚴女士終於擺脫了審查的桎梏，得以完全自由地表達了。語言真是細膩又犀利。這裡邊的男人都多少有些渣（恃才傲物所致？），所以相比之下沒有特殊才能的易韌反而最顯忠厚。倒不是說作者在用道德眼光審視他們。感覺李真巧是《陸犯焉識》中韓念痕的拓展版，而陸焉識獲得了幾個分身（陸焉識和米瀟都是多麼愛女兒啊）。米拉蒂本身經歷有作者本身的影子呢，並且嚴女士的父親叫蕭馬，不就是米瀟的原型？（訪談中也提到他父親感覺到因為幾十年的思想禁錮，不能再寫作、繪畫）。

[野袁浩浩 · Rating 5 out of 5]

写的太美了。我小时候也时长有这样的局促，好好的让我尊敬的人，怎么就变丑了呢。成长过程中有这么一个时间段，发现周围这种丑病在蔓延，甚至自己，也变得丑陋，我不要丑陋，一旦丑陋起来就有种精神被强奸的感觉。这是我看的第一本严歌苓著作。

[Agoo113 · Rating 5 out of 5]

一个勇敢的小说家自由地诉说一段不被政府允许说的历史。严歌苓离开了她成长的故土，为了自由与发声，她对这片土地的的深沉！

[Patricia Xiong · Rating 4 out of 5]

看到一半过后才开始停不下来。印象最深的是真巧和易韧。

[小顽皮 · Rating 5 out of 5]

后来人们又再次睡过去了

[Xinghui · Rating 4 out of 5]

读下来感觉作者的文字像山涧一般畅快地流淌。不同时间的记忆经常跳转，但就像小说最后吴可的那出戏一样，在同一个舞台上看到了过去、现在、未来的人物。不喜欢梁多那样的人，有才华又如何呢，最后才华也成了丑态。真巧像是圣母（褒义），照拂那些落魄的男人，的确像劫富济贫的侠士。最喜欢的当然还是米拉了。关于文革对人的影响也有了新的认识

[Jenna Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

補充標記，很好讀的一本書，可以一窺80年代的中國社會風貌及藝術家知識分子圈的風貌，開放張揚的、風光霽月的、泥沙俱下的、暗流湧動的、危險潛伏的。米拉的小姑真巧和米拉的父親米瀟真是兩個瀟灑的人物。

[squishy face · Rating 5 out of 5]

读到老米爸临终那一段感觉像回到10年前读《陆犯焉识》…一段国家社会历史碾压在一代人身上时，艺术也不能拯救他们

[Salmon Pilot · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Chinese:
https://salmon1221.github.io/review/0...

[Sophie Xiao · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing. There are a lot of male gaze and misogynistic tendencies in this book.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

难看的可怕！无以复加的“”丑“”正如作者在其作品中喋喋不休的重复一样，丑上加丑。 我们熟悉的严歌苓的故事呢小说情节呢冲突呢什么都没有。 既不像一部严肃的文学作品也不像一本通俗的小说。

[lonnnnnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

実鬱孖夵：时间尚未沉淀，历史的尘垢不能大白天下，只可意会不能言说，这是每一个朝代必然的现象。诉说历史与用历史诉说，对于时代的亲历者，往往是酒后真言不吐不快。《米拉蒂》是作者个人的艺术化的回忆录，是不是可以这样揣度，真假与否，答案已在追随的读者心里。《芳华》里的军旅生涯，《天浴》里的知青返城，《陆犯焉识》里的亲情悖论，《扶桑》里的化刚的爱，《上海舞男》、《老师好美》里畸态的情爱等等，在这本书里都有影子。

书的密度很大，横跨中外半个世纪，聚焦在米拉蒂割据、合并几度反转变异的家庭成员身上，涉猎事件、生存、自由、理想、爱情。抽掉故事情节，单就音乐、舞蹈、绘画、剧作赏析，也是一道大餐。各种身临其境的情景，如果没有涵厚的文学修养，是无法刻画的。特别是那些有点奇怪的名人的癖好与生活习惯，虽然人人觉知一二，但酒不上头总差那么点感觉。

严的修辞与情感是饱满的老辣的。她在时空里摘语取句，补缀情感，让人物的情态楚楚可人。书中有相当一部分应该是真实的，那样的胆识让人敬佩。