Frontier - Chapters 1 thru 5

[Sam]

I am also approaching the novel differently in this read. Instead of trying to find interpretation I have been trying to track patterns of emotion and idea, both of that the characters and then looking at what emotions and ideas have been stimulated in me. So for example in Chapter one the idea and emotional content that resounded with me the most was an idea associated with the separation of Liujin and her parents. Others that I sensed were loneliness, marginalization, and a combination sense of misunderstanding/misunderstanding/miscommunication. Chapter two 's main idea or emotion was for me anxiety, mostly from Jose and much of it stemming from concerns over his wife. Again maginalization and lack of communication between characters were prominent.

The other approach I am using is more abstract but involves looking at how the author builds and releases tension or conflict and resolution. In chapter one this is relative normal with tensions following a fairly normal path with a full sense of resolution. In chapter two the cycling is more rapid with multiple quick rises and falls. There are also contradictory signals like Nansi's dog bite which should cause great tension, but is moderated by her calm reaction. The ending of chapter two is not a complete resolution of tension but close enough to where we get a sense of resolve.

I don't know if either of these approaches will help my appreciation of the novel but it is getting me past frustration like Bill was experiencing.

BTW, one thing that has helped me greatly with Xue is to get away from the idea of associating her prose with Kafka and instead to consider it more like Gogol's. I usually get frustrated when comparing Kafka to Xue but whether comparing the two's sense of humor or imagining one of Gogol's witches or devils popping into a scene of Xue's seems almost natural when I read her, (and Gogol was a master at the type cut off conversations that Marc mentioned earlier. )

[Marc]

Lark wrote: "There is ONE PARAGRAPH that I remember so lovingly, from my first read, that I'm reading forward in intense anticipation for the moment when I get there...."
I'm excited on your behalf!
:)

[Hester]

These thoughts are all really helpful and has certainly made me think more . I'm very aware too of confusion , loneliness and misunderstanding , of a sense of the past, present and future being fluid, attainable and elusive . While we have limited backstory for all the characters all feel dislocated to me . So far none of the characters feel connected and there are elements in Pebble Town that seem designed to separate people from each other . At times I get a gothic feeling , with those spooky tappings , the predominant motif of birds and Nancy 's night experience at The Design Institute .There is so much lurking in the elements , in the inanimate and the world of nature , crying out to be heard . Even the ground is not solid .

[Stacia]

I read Qiming's chapter (ch. 3) which seemed almost sensible.

I am mostly posting to say that the mention of Lysol made me lol. Here were are in this dreamy, odd world... and then Lysol pops up. I guess it's funny that such a normal item feels entirely strange in this setting.

[Hester]

Stacia ... exactly !

[Marc]

Hester wrote: "At times I get a gothic feeling , with those spooky tappings , the predominant motif of birds and Nancy 's night experience at The Design Institute ..."
I’m glad you brought this up, Hester—-there’s always a bit of ominous or menacing feeling going on. Maybe uncertainty, mystery, and nature mixing together?

Stacia, it would seem Xue has a sense of humor, too!

[Dianne]

Marc wrote: ""Disorientation" is definitely the word for this reading so far. Also, an overwhelming feeling of estrangement.

I wanted to ask how you all are reading two recurring things:

1) Sometimes, one cha..."

This is so true. I've finished the first five chapters and I almost feel like I need to take notes because it's hard to make sense of it all and the relationship of the characters with each other. Certainly not an ordinarily plot line.

[Lesley]

Stacia wrote: "Lol about "geezer". It's not a word I use often but I do use it."

I love the use of geezer - to me it’s Everyman/Anyman with a touch of humour.

[Jenna]

Chapter 2 felt more linear to me, more purposeful, comparing Jose and Nancy, and one of the things that i was finding interesting about this experimental fiction is how much can be learned about characters when the situations they are in at so bizarre - crystallized for me by Nancy’s reaction, lying in bed at the end of that eventful and to Jose pretty horrifying day “the frontier is so beautiful.” It was a bit disappointing have won my understanding of their characters through this chapter to have it told to me out right by the character in the next chapter, but oh well. I still loved that line of Nancy’s.

[Marc]

Jenna wrote: "Chapter 2 felt more linear to me, more purposeful, comparing Jose and Nancy, and one of the things that i was finding interesting about this experimental fiction is how much can be learned about ch..."

I almost feel like there's a gender-specific reaction to Pebble Town, but I might be forcing this a bit. See if your reading of future chapters supports this in any way (with the female characters often embracing or understanding this town/area better than their male counterparts). Nancy seems to adapt quite quickly...

[Jenna]

That’s interesting Marc. Certainly there are characters who are better adapted for various reasons. Nancy was excited by and engaged with the difference, even if it was disruptive. In chapter 3 Qiming seems very much of a piece with pebble town but only because he is so child like that it’s conflicts and edginess slides off him - he doesn’t see the exotic-ness of his love object or the changeability of the building he lives in as problems. He has shed his old life like a skin and seems to have no attachment. It’s almost zen, and contrasts with the fight that the director is having mostly off stage with Haizai. It is only when he is holding Nancy’s baby that he suddenly has an adult emotion and starts to feel the dislocation of its new-ness.

[Marc]

Jenna wrote: "In chapter 3 Qiming seems very much of a piece with pebble town but only because he is so child like that it’s conflicts and edginess slides off him - he doesn’t see the exotic-ness of his love object or the changeability of the building he lives in as problems. He has shed his old life like a skin and seems to have no attachment. It’s almost zen, and contrasts with the fight that the director is having mostly off stage with Haizai."

Now that you've mentioned him, Qiming really does seem to have a unique and special relationship to Pebble Town. What did/do you make of the name Pebble Town (if anything)?

[Jenna]

Marc my first reaction is to say “it’s a pebble in my shoe!”

Have read now chapter 4 with Mr Sherman struggling to accept the mystery in pebble town, unable to communicate with wife or daughter or potential lover, willing to go there to reach his daughter finally, which I found very touching, even if he failed. I see a contrast maybe mostly between when characters chafe against the mystery/life/pebbles and when they have more non-attachment, which is sometimes strongest in the side characters.

[Sam]

Interesting article on translating Chinese. It did not fully cover what I had hoped but it does help and can be applied to translation in general.

https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog...

[Marc]

Jenna wrote: "Marc my first reaction is to say “it’s a pebble in my shoe!"

Ha! Well, that says so much.

The inability or challenges of communicating, in general, could be an interesting way of looking at this book and the relations among characters... Just now thinking of this thanks to your post.
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Thanks for the link, Sam.