The Drowning of an Old Cat and Other Stories

by Huang Chunming

English, Chinese (translation)

Genres: Short Stories

270 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1980

About the author

Huang Chunming (黃春明, also Hwang Chun-ming; born February 13, 1935) is a Taiwanese literary figure and teacher. Huang writes mainly about the tragic and sometimes humorous lives of ordinary Taiwanese people, and many of his short stories have been turned into films, including The Sandwich Man (1983).

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Dave]

Firstly, no cat was harmed in the title story. These stories are set in Taiwan. I liked them very much for the loving portrayals of ordinary people struggling against a changing society and attitudes. One story, The Gong, is waaay longer than it should be. The last, "Soyonara - Tsai-chien" is historical, hysterical and R-rated, and is very good.

[Eric Hinkle]

What a fantastic book! I felt like each of the eight stories got better and better, for the most part. Lovely, hilarious, and heartbreaking tales of rural and city life in Taiwan. Huang creates fleshed out characters full of lovable imperfections. A number of the characters are older men who have found themselves and their work belittled by modern technology and modern thought, and it's heart-wrenching to read such detailed episodes of the discovery of their more or less "uselessness." Other stories are about all the troubles that come with poverty - some sad, some hilarious. There's a surprising amount of raunchiness in these stories - unexpected due to the reputation of Taiwan as being guarded and shy about certain personal subjects.

I read this book because I wanted some literature from the country in which I am now living, but I would have loved this book at any point in my life - the tales and people are absolutely universal and should appeal to anyone with an active heart. I found out about the author because my favorite Taiwanese filmmaker, Hao Hsiao Hsien, did a short film based on one of these stories - The Sandwich Man. Really, though, I'm surprised that only two or three of these stories have been made into films. They're wonderful!

[Anna Engel]

I really wanted to like "Drowning" in its entirety. However, I got bored while reading "The Gong." The stories are quaint and poignant, but I couldn't stay focused. So I moved on to other things.