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Mother River
The thirteen stories in this collection are vintage Can Xue. Similar to her novels (The Last Lover, Frontier) and other collections (Vertical Motion) the focus is less on what happens and more on the experience of reading.
"Mother River" is a short bildungsroman of a young man who decides to become a fisherman (and crafter of spherical maps) and discovers that performing the role itself is more important than the number of fish they catch.
Surreal, provocative, and unique, Mother River reinforces Can Xue's status as one of the most reward and complex writers working today—and a perennial favorite to win the Nobel Prize.
"Mother River" is a short bildungsroman of a young man who decides to become a fisherman (and crafter of spherical maps) and discovers that performing the role itself is more important than the number of fish they catch.
Surreal, provocative, and unique, Mother River reinforces Can Xue's status as one of the most reward and complex writers working today—and a perennial favorite to win the Nobel Prize.
265 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2025
46 people are currently reading
871 people want to read
About the author
Can Xue
92 books431 followers残雪
Can Xue (Chinese: 残雪; pinyin: Cán Xuĕ), née Deng Xiaohua (Chinese: 邓小华), is a Chinese avant-garde fiction writer, literary critic, and tailor. She was born May 30, 1953 in Changsha, Hunan, China. Her family was severely persecuted following her father being labeled an ultra-rightist in the Anti-rightist Movement of 1957. Her writing, which consists mostly of short fiction, breaks with the realism of earlier modern Chinese writers. She has also written novels, novellas, and literary criticisms of the work of Dante, Jorge Luis Borges, and Franz Kafka. Some of her fiction has been translated and published in English.
(from Wikipedia)
Can Xue (Chinese: 残雪; pinyin: Cán Xuĕ), née Deng Xiaohua (Chinese: 邓小华), is a Chinese avant-garde fiction writer, literary critic, and tailor. She was born May 30, 1953 in Changsha, Hunan, China. Her family was severely persecuted following her father being labeled an ultra-rightist in the Anti-rightist Movement of 1957. Her writing, which consists mostly of short fiction, breaks with the realism of earlier modern Chinese writers. She has also written novels, novellas, and literary criticisms of the work of Dante, Jorge Luis Borges, and Franz Kafka. Some of her fiction has been translated and published in English.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 18, 2024
I'm biased but also this is probably the best Can Xue to date. Funny, beautiful, daydreamy. You're in for a treat.
March 19, 2025
Anxiety inducing… often difficult to follow… and also contains so many beautiful images and touching depictions of dynamics between family/community members. I can’t wait to read more of her work.
“‘Is your sweetheart here?’ I asked Ji.
‘She’s everywhere, but never where I am.’”
(Is that how you use quotation marks around dialogue?)
“‘Is your sweetheart here?’ I asked Ji.
‘She’s everywhere, but never where I am.’”
(Is that how you use quotation marks around dialogue?)
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March 9, 2024Might be my favorite Can Xue book yet!
March 14, 2025
Can Xue is a trickster. Her stories begin simply. A boy and a river. Retired schoolteachers living in a retirement community. A young man frustrated with his family. But then something strange happens. A mysterious shadow appears. Each person in a couple suspects that the other is keeping a secret. A coffee shop owner has a secret golden peacock. Can Xue’s stories are consistent and surprising and consistently surprising.
Humankind’s relationship with nature is the central theme of Mother River, a new collection of thirteen stories by Can Xue translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping for Open Letter Press. Nature is sometimes the center of her story as it accommodates itself and hides from an ever-expanding humanity. But nature also manifests itself through animals that can symbolize secret loves or hidden strength.
Fans of magical realism will find a lot to like in these stories as will fans of Japanese authors like Haruki Murakami and Kobo Abe. Those interested in contemporary Chinese authors like Mo Yan (particularly his Republic of Wine) and Gao Xingjian will find aspects of Can Xue’s work familiar, though her relationship to contemporary Chinese fiction is ambiguous.
We will see if Can Xue wins the Nobel Prize for Literature in the coming years. If so, Mother River will be an important collection for helping English readers appreciate her style and perspective.
Humankind’s relationship with nature is the central theme of Mother River, a new collection of thirteen stories by Can Xue translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping for Open Letter Press. Nature is sometimes the center of her story as it accommodates itself and hides from an ever-expanding humanity. But nature also manifests itself through animals that can symbolize secret loves or hidden strength.
Fans of magical realism will find a lot to like in these stories as will fans of Japanese authors like Haruki Murakami and Kobo Abe. Those interested in contemporary Chinese authors like Mo Yan (particularly his Republic of Wine) and Gao Xingjian will find aspects of Can Xue’s work familiar, though her relationship to contemporary Chinese fiction is ambiguous.
We will see if Can Xue wins the Nobel Prize for Literature in the coming years. If so, Mother River will be an important collection for helping English readers appreciate her style and perspective.
February 1, 2025
The best parts of this short story collection—magical-realist vignettes about a farm where stones grow out of the soil or a hidden forest in a city—remind me of Calvino's Invisible Cities in their ability to make you nostalgic for gently fantastical worlds you've never visited. Many of these stories dwell compellingly on themes of urban alienation, scrutinising the experience of living in a rapidly transforming modern China. However, even though most of these stories opened with intriguing images, their frequently irresolute and open-ended conclusions left me somewhat unsatisfied on a few occasions. My sense is that this ambiguity is a deliberate choice rather than a fault, so perhaps I'm just not quite on the wavelength of Can Xue's style.
March 9, 2025
Stories like dreams... The pull of the natural world even when modernity rules, the urge to merge with that world... I found the first six stories much more powerful than those of the book's second half. The best of these stories are deeply mysterious and may merge with your own dream world...
September 30, 2025
pleasantly confused the entire time
January 27, 2025
Can xue escapes into the soul and creates an open non-local literary space. This space has no certainty, material, or specific time and space. Infinite spiritual love connects everything. For those who seek the meaning of life, Can xue is a must-read writer.
February 8, 2026
although the characters are all written as people, it would almost be more fitting for them to be sentient flowers or objects
tradition and things keeping you tied down to a hometown.
what is the point of nothingness?
what is of substance and what is now (shadows)
a common theme is that a lot of character usually avoid or dislike social activities. a lot ruminates on the “benefits” or whether it is necessary for humans to be social/or if we can exist in our own isolation (a world of our own)
interconnectedness and finding novel and undiscovered terrain in places you have lived in for years
something is always brewing, on the brink of happening but not quite
honestly would not recommend. found myself bored and reading just to be done with it.
1. mother river — a bit esoteric. felt like trying to grasp a fish, i would almost “get it” and then it would slip out and elude me. felt like this quote captured it quite aptly: “I could either catch fish as Meng Ha did, or I could not catch them.”
2. stone village —
1. “Why were we keeping watch over these stones?“
2. “Did they think that as long as we weren’t starving we should stay here?”
3. smog city
1. “It came and stayed, and people accepted it as they do the air.”
2. faceless heads
3. what we remember as a collective
4. i wasn’t sure at first but i tentatively think i like the different vignettes
4. the drummer boy
1. “it was the odor you smelled in a home where someone had just passed away”- for me, that’s formaldehyde
2. “… and all of a sudden, I was curious about this city.”
3. “I’m an outsider here, but this is where my roots are.” - articulates perfectly the irony of his situation
4. “It is the pure silence of mourning.”
5. bit weird, bit spiritual
5. the neighborhood
1. his disconnect from society
2. sports facility v community garden
3. woah that just entered into magical realism / wind up bird chronicle world
4. “New-age people have new ways!”
5. “Mrs. Yuan had gradually discovered various black holes in her life” - i read them as an abstract concept on the first go but here it is literal
6. the young man who loved to think deeply
1. “The texture of things in such places was like water snakes or wisteria.”
2. “but for some reason, the wisteria had never appeared in his dreams. Dreamland was unreliable”
7. something to do with poetry
8. the inside story
1. papa hoh dreaming of being a pilot - same as my father!
2. the enigmatic golden peacock
3. “You’ve seen it already; you just have to change your perspective”
9. the lion king
1. scientific expedition turns into unrequited love for a lion
2. “It was impossible for him to remember that he had come across a person on a particular evening”
3. “Everything had been turned upside down just because of that chance encounter by the river lasting less than thirty seconds.
10. at the edge of the marsh
1. “Leihuo understood that today was a turning point in his life: he had argued with his family, and now at the marsh he had run into destiny’s frightening demon.”
2. pigs, winter melons, and monitor lizards
3. “Later he wondered what kind of thing had crumbled in Dad’s heart.”
11. night in xishuangbanna
1. a mysterious town that never sleeps
2. flying turkeys and girls who steal your soul
3. natives v outsiders
4. reminds me of 白蛇传
12. the goddess of xishuangbanna
1. “But if you haven’t met the person, could you call this “love”
2. bungalows and bears
13. love in xishuangbanna
1. one persons trash is another persons treasure
2. “living dictionaries”
3. “Mi thought again of Jasmine’s not mentioning Fragrant River’s sexuality”
tradition and things keeping you tied down to a hometown.
what is the point of nothingness?
what is of substance and what is now (shadows)
a common theme is that a lot of character usually avoid or dislike social activities. a lot ruminates on the “benefits” or whether it is necessary for humans to be social/or if we can exist in our own isolation (a world of our own)
interconnectedness and finding novel and undiscovered terrain in places you have lived in for years
something is always brewing, on the brink of happening but not quite
honestly would not recommend. found myself bored and reading just to be done with it.
1. mother river — a bit esoteric. felt like trying to grasp a fish, i would almost “get it” and then it would slip out and elude me. felt like this quote captured it quite aptly: “I could either catch fish as Meng Ha did, or I could not catch them.”
2. stone village —
1. “Why were we keeping watch over these stones?“
2. “Did they think that as long as we weren’t starving we should stay here?”
3. smog city
1. “It came and stayed, and people accepted it as they do the air.”
2. faceless heads
3. what we remember as a collective
4. i wasn’t sure at first but i tentatively think i like the different vignettes
4. the drummer boy
1. “it was the odor you smelled in a home where someone had just passed away”- for me, that’s formaldehyde
2. “… and all of a sudden, I was curious about this city.”
3. “I’m an outsider here, but this is where my roots are.” - articulates perfectly the irony of his situation
4. “It is the pure silence of mourning.”
5. bit weird, bit spiritual
5. the neighborhood
1. his disconnect from society
2. sports facility v community garden
3. woah that just entered into magical realism / wind up bird chronicle world
4. “New-age people have new ways!”
5. “Mrs. Yuan had gradually discovered various black holes in her life” - i read them as an abstract concept on the first go but here it is literal
6. the young man who loved to think deeply
1. “The texture of things in such places was like water snakes or wisteria.”
2. “but for some reason, the wisteria had never appeared in his dreams. Dreamland was unreliable”
7. something to do with poetry
8. the inside story
1. papa hoh dreaming of being a pilot - same as my father!
2. the enigmatic golden peacock
3. “You’ve seen it already; you just have to change your perspective”
9. the lion king
1. scientific expedition turns into unrequited love for a lion
2. “It was impossible for him to remember that he had come across a person on a particular evening”
3. “Everything had been turned upside down just because of that chance encounter by the river lasting less than thirty seconds.
10. at the edge of the marsh
1. “Leihuo understood that today was a turning point in his life: he had argued with his family, and now at the marsh he had run into destiny’s frightening demon.”
2. pigs, winter melons, and monitor lizards
3. “Later he wondered what kind of thing had crumbled in Dad’s heart.”
11. night in xishuangbanna
1. a mysterious town that never sleeps
2. flying turkeys and girls who steal your soul
3. natives v outsiders
4. reminds me of 白蛇传
12. the goddess of xishuangbanna
1. “But if you haven’t met the person, could you call this “love”
2. bungalows and bears
13. love in xishuangbanna
1. one persons trash is another persons treasure
2. “living dictionaries”
3. “Mi thought again of Jasmine’s not mentioning Fragrant River’s sexuality”
March 9, 2025
This is my favorite Can Xue short story collection to date, and could be her best book available in English. Can Xue is still Can Xue, so these stories can be rather surreal and difficult at times, but this might just be her at her “easiest” and most rewarding (and potentially her most humorous).
March 24, 2025
i really wanted to like this book but i found myself not connecting with it as much as i hoped 🙁 the first few stories i did enjoy but found it harder to decipher as i went through the book. i fear the ambiguity is not for my little brain to comprehend. however, the imagery in this book was really beautiful – did feel very dreamscape-ish
June 22, 2025
It’s difficult to rate a collection of short stories. Some I loved and some I found too impenetrable or even dull. Some of the strangest prose and storytelling I’ve ever encountered. I think if you can just let it wash over you and don’t engage with it logically at all, it can put you into a really pleasant dream-like state of mind.
abandoned
March 5, 2025I really tried, but I found the first four stories in this collection totally impenetrable. I feel like there's either context that I'm missing (because I haven't read a lot of Chinese literature), or the style simply isn't for me. I gave up after finishing "The Drummer Boy", then picked "The Lion King" at random and didn't like that either.
March 14, 2025
A collection of short stories that hit more than miss. Bizarre, touching, nonsensical, perfectly sensical. Maybe it’s because he has been on my mind, but the way these stories are told and unfold made me think of David Lynch.
January 31, 2025
i got dizzy
August 26, 2025
I’m sorry but I just did not Get it at all🙏
March 18, 2025
3.5/5
Like a lot of short story collections, I found this a real mixed bag. I think some of the writing is very strong and descriptive. You really get some vivid imagery and almost every story. This is HEAVY magical realism, which works sometimes and does not in others. A few of the stories really moved me, but a good chunk of them were just ok or forgettable. I am sure I'm missing some context as a non-Chinese person, and it seems a lot of the same beats are hit in these stories: connect to nature to unlock a secret life/meaning. This is an enjoyable read, though for me it had some frustrations and the last third of the book really slow slowed me down.
Fav stories: Drummer Boy, Stone Village, At The Edge of The Marsh, The Neighborhood
Like a lot of short story collections, I found this a real mixed bag. I think some of the writing is very strong and descriptive. You really get some vivid imagery and almost every story. This is HEAVY magical realism, which works sometimes and does not in others. A few of the stories really moved me, but a good chunk of them were just ok or forgettable. I am sure I'm missing some context as a non-Chinese person, and it seems a lot of the same beats are hit in these stories: connect to nature to unlock a secret life/meaning. This is an enjoyable read, though for me it had some frustrations and the last third of the book really slow slowed me down.
Fav stories: Drummer Boy, Stone Village, At The Edge of The Marsh, The Neighborhood
March 25, 2025
Well ... on the one hand, the author is adept at crafting dream-like stories, and that's not an easy thing to do. Of course, real dreams are difficult to grasp -- and remember -- and that's true here as well. I suppose they're to be experienced and not much else, because on the other hand, they are pretty easily forgettable. Aside from the surreal situations, which are kind of fun to read, characters act in seemingly random, incomprehensible ways, and that makes it hard to take away anything. Plus, a little of this kind of writing goes a long, long way, and a whole book of it can seem monotonous. Still, though, a unique collection that some readers will adore and others will scratch their heads over.
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June 8, 2025Not my favorite Can Xue book, these stories speak to her sly and deceptive edge, and a kind of ecological consciousness that feels part of her broader preoccupations. I recommend it for readers who are willing to dig into more of her books, and willing to play along with her surreal and oblique tongue. In fact, the short story form feels like a nice place to become acquainted with this idiosyncratic talent.
I'm choosing to forgo a star-rating on this one; I think some stories are more complete and compelling than others, as is often the case in this form, which makes a kind of summative numerical judgement a bit moot.
I'm choosing to forgo a star-rating on this one; I think some stories are more complete and compelling than others, as is often the case in this form, which makes a kind of summative numerical judgement a bit moot.
May 7, 2025
A truly surreal group of short stories. Can Xue takes the reader to otherworldly places that are off-kilter from our reality and full of nearly uncanny characters. I want to rate this higher, but these stories aren’t meant to be read once. I will go back to some of these, and that may change my rating in the future. But still, these were good stories that brought a level of enchantment and disturbance with them
March 12, 2025
I really really really really want to love Can Xue’s writing, but I just can’t. I can’t put my finger on it, but it just doesn’t do it for me. There are so many good things going for it, but, put them all together and it the whole is underwhelming for me.
January 25, 2026
I take issue with this translation (though, obviously, I cannot compare it with the original material)… everything is “some things”……. Overall, I find that this translation doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the absolutely insane phenomena unraveling in this fever dream of a read!
October 13, 2025
smog city is one of my favorites in this collection! surreal, dreamy, and inventive.
November 28, 2025
seriously goated, i don't think there's anybody out there spinning yarns like Can Xue
how does she do it?!
how does she do it?!
January 12, 2026
I enjoyed the urban folktale-ish ambiance of these stories
February 3, 2026
Give Can Xue the Nobel Prize Challenge 2026. This wasn't my favourite of hers but by the end I was totally intoxicated!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews