What are you reading?

[laopengyou]

On 14th August 2005, chenpv wrote :

woooo, it seems that u guys appreciates modern chinese literature. while i just like some of them. here apart from some books on neuroscience and GRE, i am reading this 《子不语》written by 袁枚 of Qing Dynasty. Its a collection of ghost stories, very funny, easy to read.

I do agree with chenpv, 《子不语》is very pleasant to read, and though it is written in classical chinese, it is not very difficult to understand, as its style is simple and unadorned, and sometimes very close to modern chinese. I highly recommend this book to all readers who are fond of fantastic tales (not only ghost stories, in fact). You may find an online version of it at http://www.400g.com/gdwx/xs/bj/zby/index.htm

[Lu]

Just finished a little book with short stories called City Cousin. Written in 1974 and publised by the Foreign Languages Press (translations in the style of Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, I don't suppose they actually translated it but it looks exactely like their work). City girl becomes good farmer through hard work, girl becomes crane driver, PLA soldiers are good for the people, etcetera.

The nice thing of propaganda is it always has a happy ending, and can make you feel good. The not-so-nice thing of it is that it's not true, of course. In this aspect, it is the exact opposite of the newspaper, which is true but rarely has a happy ending, and also rarely makes you feel good about the world.

[skylee]

I am reading Paulo Coelho's "Eleven Minutes". So far so good.

[Lu]

Reading detectives by Peter May. American writer, but his books take place in China, are about the police there. This is tricky, it's very easy to get it wrong and sometimes he does. But only sometimes. This man has obviously researched his subject.

Some things he does get wrong: man tells woman 'because of the shortage of women in China, women will be much in demand, especially beautiful and smart women (like you).' The woman he talks to is a 37-year-old Chinese with a career. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Chinese men want a woman who is young, not too smart and not too careerist.

A bit further the main character drives up to Beijing and sees the buildings contrasting against the clear sky. Clear sky in Beijing... ah well, it's fiction.

But on the whole May gets a lot of things right, and for the rest his books are nice detectives, although not Higher Literature.

[carlo]

I'm finishing 'The White Mandarin' by Dan Sherman in a Chinese translation (白肤色中国官员), a spy story written in the 80s about a 'Ma Haide' type who goes to China before 1949 and stays there for decades after liberation, doubling up as a CIA agent! The premise is interesting if not very believable (I don't think you'd have that much room to maneuver as a 'foreign friend' in 50's China), but the author writes well and surprisingly knows a lot about the subject, at least compared to like Tom Clancy. Unfortunately the English version is out of print, I got the Chinese version second-hand from a street vendor for 3 yuan.

[semantic nuance]

Personally, I find 老舍's <離婚> is so well written. Characters in that book are vividly portrayed. I think he has a good command of depicting human nature. Anyway, worth reading. Just check it out.

[ddjiii]

First post. Good forum.

Two friends of mine read 尘埃落定 (chen ai luo jing, Dust Settles) by 呵来 and thought it was great. I started it and while I liked it a lot I had to give it up - it was just too hard for me.

Any suggestions for literature that is 1) interesting, 2) easy and 3) short? Besides Lu Xun, who writes good short stories?

Thanks

[skylee]

Any suggestions for literature that is 1) interesting, 2) easy and 3) short? Besides Lu Xun, who writes good short stories?

I like Lilian LEE. Try those in this post -> http://www.chinese-forums.com/showpost.php?p=15369&postcount=12

BTW, I found the ending of Paulo Coelho's "Eleven Minutes" very cheap. I am now reading his "Veronika decides to die". I don't know why I keep reading his books. I don't like them that much.

[Lu]

ddjii: Maybe you can try Huang Chunming, a Taiwanese writer. Actually I don't think he is that good a writer (that is, his language is good but his subjects and the way he writes about them are not, in my opinion), but his stories are good to read.

[mr. fanglang]

just finished 絲路分手旅行, an excellent travel essay book about xinjiang published this year. humorous, and interesting philosophical views on life presented by writer, who treated the trip as a way to exorcise his failed relationship. by 李桐豪.

[mr. fanglang]

Almost thru with 長安亂 by 韓寒. Highly entertaining satirical wuxia novel. Suitable for the intermediate level reader in my opinion, as its not too difficult and there aren't too many characters too keep track of.

[Lu]

Stilwell and the American experience in China. I've started on it a few years ago, but didn't finish then, started again a few days ago. It's so informative and well-written, the style reminds me of Spence's books, but with less footnotes.

[bhchao]

For those interested in the 1592 and 1597 Imjim War in Korea, this book seems interesting. The author uses Korean and Chinese sources written in Classical Chinese as his research tools for the book.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200511/kt2005111417440611710.htm

[mr. fanglang]

Based on a recommendation in this post, i started to read 離婚 by 老舍. I found it very difficult as there are many terms specific to northern china which this author apparently likes to use in all his works. For those of us just starting to get fluent in reading chinese, i think reading authors who pepper their work with local/regoinal catch phrases is very challenging.

[chenpv]

I have just finished Helen Keller's 'The story of my life and others'. Half way in the 'Angels and Demons' but can hardly go on reading, so start another book 'The Walden and others' which is really amazing.

[skylee]

I've finished "Veronika decides to die" and I think this one is much better than "Eleven minutes". The ending, though predictable, is far better than "11".

I guess I will now go back to "A short history of nearly everything". This is the only book written by Bill Bryson that I find it hard to finish ...

[Lu]

I think 'Veronika' is a bit... pedantic (not sure if this is the right word). Like Coelho knows it all and is going to tell us what life is about, like we don't really know but we needn't worry anymore, we can just read that book and know. Too many answers, not enough questioning.

Am now reading some Li Ao. This guy is interesting, he's making a career of disagreeing and ma-ing people. Haven't read much yet, but he seems to think everything on Taiwan is wrong. But if he would have been that critical on the mainland he would have gotten in a lot more trouble than he got in Taiwan.

[skylee]

Like Coelho knows it all and is going to tell us what life is about, like we don't really know but we needn't worry anymore, we can just read that book and know. Too many answers, not enough questioning.

But this is his style. I have read three of his books and have decided to stop.

[Lu]

Skylee: I'll not read more of him then. I don't like that tone.

Now reading Candy, by Mian Mian. Should have read this when it came out, in 2000, I don't know why I didn't.

It gives an interesting picture of the underground, the life on the dark side of the big city in the '90s, I think it's good that this book exists, although it's not that well written.

[florazheng]

I spent several weeks on reading The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock then followed My Last Duchess. After poems, I dabbled Catcher in the Rye. Now I am reading Treasure Island. I enjoy the adventurous plot and very vivid expressions. I have finished 22 Chapters by now. :mrgreen: