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平原客
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 13, 2022
The denouement of this book is actually both exciting and insightful, but it takes, far, far too long to get there. Far too much long-winded detail relating the entire life stories of a myriad of characters, all told in a strangely lifeless and unnatural prose that makes the whole thing a bit of a slog (of course, I have no idea whether that's a feature of the original book or the fault of the translator).
There's also a character called Sloppy Wang who randomly pops up for a couple of chapters near the end, and I have to say that, if I were the translator, I might have tried to come up with an alternative adjective there.
There's also a character called Sloppy Wang who randomly pops up for a couple of chapters near the end, and I have to say that, if I were the translator, I might have tried to come up with an alternative adjective there.
August 31, 2022
The story manages to weave several narratives into one, and I was able to follow the main characters without forgetting who someone was. The pacing was pretty good and the dialogue was believable. I would not want to be friends with any of the characters, but that doesn't make the story less compelling. The beauty of translated fiction is the plot is much more unpredictable.
February 21, 2024
Full review coming soon on the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing Website
I was very excited to receive such a beautiful hardback edition of this book by Sinoist books. The sleeve illustration was beautiful, and under the dust jacket I was surprised to find a gold embossment of the novel’s original Chinese title (also, it was nice to see the translators name on the cover of the book for once!)
This book begins in rural Jiangxi, following a man called Liu Quanyou, who is given the nickname ‘Iron hands’, on account of his thick, callused hands that, after years of hard work with plants and soil, are not injured by thorns or sharp prickles. I enjoyed this rural setting, and the intimacy Liu Quanyou shared with plants and nature
But once we met the other power hungry characters, the book became a mess of corruption, manipulation, divorce and murder. I understand the characters might have been intentionally unlikable, but that didn't stop me from absolutely HATING their guts.
On top of that, the portrayal of women in this book is something I found repetitively infuriating. There were so few female characters, and so the fact that most of them were presented as hysterical and over emotional was quite frankly exhausting (especially when most of them had shit husbands!!)
As for the translation, I think it is evident that James Trapp has a broad understanding of Chinese culture and characters. Whilst I enjoyed his employment of foreignizations, I did feel his translation style was somewhat inconsistent. It read at points a little bit like a non-fiction, rather than a piece of fiction – although I do understand that is difficult with the convoluted nature of the novel. Perhaps he tried to stay too true to the original translation, and that left it not always reading so naturally in English.
Overall, this novel would be a great read for those interested in the corruption of the cultural revolution in China. I felt it was a little too long, and perhaps set itself a challenge with the sheer number of characters. The interweaving of many different narratives was at times difficult to follow, and not always engaging. I did not feel particularly attached to the characters, and I would perhaps have enjoyed it more if the female characters were given a little more depth.
I was very excited to receive such a beautiful hardback edition of this book by Sinoist books. The sleeve illustration was beautiful, and under the dust jacket I was surprised to find a gold embossment of the novel’s original Chinese title (also, it was nice to see the translators name on the cover of the book for once!)
This book begins in rural Jiangxi, following a man called Liu Quanyou, who is given the nickname ‘Iron hands’, on account of his thick, callused hands that, after years of hard work with plants and soil, are not injured by thorns or sharp prickles. I enjoyed this rural setting, and the intimacy Liu Quanyou shared with plants and nature
But once we met the other power hungry characters, the book became a mess of corruption, manipulation, divorce and murder. I understand the characters might have been intentionally unlikable, but that didn't stop me from absolutely HATING their guts.
On top of that, the portrayal of women in this book is something I found repetitively infuriating. There were so few female characters, and so the fact that most of them were presented as hysterical and over emotional was quite frankly exhausting (especially when most of them had shit husbands!!)
As for the translation, I think it is evident that James Trapp has a broad understanding of Chinese culture and characters. Whilst I enjoyed his employment of foreignizations, I did feel his translation style was somewhat inconsistent. It read at points a little bit like a non-fiction, rather than a piece of fiction – although I do understand that is difficult with the convoluted nature of the novel. Perhaps he tried to stay too true to the original translation, and that left it not always reading so naturally in English.
Overall, this novel would be a great read for those interested in the corruption of the cultural revolution in China. I felt it was a little too long, and perhaps set itself a challenge with the sheer number of characters. The interweaving of many different narratives was at times difficult to follow, and not always engaging. I did not feel particularly attached to the characters, and I would perhaps have enjoyed it more if the female characters were given a little more depth.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews