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jelundberg's review
5.0
So as to not bury the lede: I LOVED this collection, and highly recommend it to anyone into surreal and strange short fiction. Far and away my favorite book read this year.
One of the best parts of getting invited to moderate a panel discussion at a convention or literary festival is encountering the work of writers you might not have ordinarily come across. Such was the case with Dorothy Tse, who appeared on one of my panels at the 2017 George Town Literary Festival.
Tse writes in Chinese and reads in Cantonese, and is highly regarded for her stories in her native Hong Kong. However, those of us who read in English have the extraordinary fortune to have Nicky Harman's lyrical translation of Snow and Shadow, an extraordinary collection of oneiric pieces that feel at home next to the best of Angela Carter and Kelly Link.
Tse draws from a deep well of dreamlike imagery and delightfully strange premises, such as men trading body parts for sexual favors, a father donating his head to his son when the young man's goes missing, an apartment block where the units never stay in the same location, and a wife slowly transforming into a fish. As well, the title story is the most remarkable retelling of Snow White since Neil Gaiman's "Snow Glass Apples".
Dorothy Tse's is a voice that deserves a wide and appreciative audience. However you can find this book, do so; you'll thank me.
One of the best parts of getting invited to moderate a panel discussion at a convention or literary festival is encountering the work of writers you might not have ordinarily come across. Such was the case with Dorothy Tse, who appeared on one of my panels at the 2017 George Town Literary Festival.
Tse writes in Chinese and reads in Cantonese, and is highly regarded for her stories in her native Hong Kong. However, those of us who read in English have the extraordinary fortune to have Nicky Harman's lyrical translation of Snow and Shadow, an extraordinary collection of oneiric pieces that feel at home next to the best of Angela Carter and Kelly Link.
Tse draws from a deep well of dreamlike imagery and delightfully strange premises, such as men trading body parts for sexual favors, a father donating his head to his son when the young man's goes missing, an apartment block where the units never stay in the same location, and a wife slowly transforming into a fish. As well, the title story is the most remarkable retelling of Snow White since Neil Gaiman's "Snow Glass Apples".
Dorothy Tse's is a voice that deserves a wide and appreciative audience. However you can find this book, do so; you'll thank me.
zoes_human's review against another edition
3.0
Surreal and sometimes poetic stories with the intangible and fascinating quality of half-remembered dreams. Tales with are both dark and whimsical.
mmelibertine's review
4.0
Bizarre and beautiful. This is an excellent collection of surreal short fiction. Highly recommended for fans of body horror and weird tales.
mmelibertine's review against another edition
4.0
Bizarre and beautiful. This is an excellent collection of surreal short fiction. Highly recommended for fans of body horror and weird tales.
kamila79's review against another edition
3.0
Concerned about the current situation in Hong Kong I reached for a collection of short stories “Snow and Shadow” by Dorothy Tse, well known Hong Kong’s author. According to her “in Hong Kong, writing itself is an active rejection of utilitarian society and mundane everyday life” and I wanted to understand what Hong Kong’s citizens escape to, what writing they choose to forget about reality.
Tse’s stories are surreal dreamscapes, in which violence, Kafkaesque transformations (a wife transforming into a fish), repetitive motives of ghosts, amputation, abortion and alienation (like in the story about an apartment building, in which apartments constantly change place and residents risk never finding them again upon returning home) permeate. I adore oneirism and some of her stories reminded me slightly of Cortázar or Onetti. My favourite one, “The Traveling Family”, about a poor family leaving the house and going on a trip, during which all members leave the group one by one until the narrator, a young boy, is left alone, brought stories by Bruno Schulz and films like “Amarcord” by Fellini or “Kosmos” by Reha Erdem to mind. Tse’s talent lies in making her dreamscapes extremely cinematic - sometimes I felt I was reading about one vision after another, without logical flow, where reality blended with metaphysics and fantasy.
And this is what also frustrated me. Many of the stories are completely inconsequential - lacking substance to make me think or feel, leaving me quite bored and unmoved. She cannot depict the emotional state of her characters the way Kafka could. Tse’s language is in no way comparable to the polished beauty and grace of Schulz. Nor can Tse build tension and thrill a reader the way Borges or Cortázar did. There is not enough depth in her writing. With the exception of a handful of stories the majority, in my opinion, would benefit from rewriting them as they do have potential but are simply underdeveloped. There are a lot of great ideas on the pages of “Snow and Shadow” and some would work beautifully executed in short films (Apichatpong Weerasethakul or Tsai Ming-Liang would be perfect to work on them). But overall, “Snow and Shadow” disappoints.
Tse’s stories are surreal dreamscapes, in which violence, Kafkaesque transformations (a wife transforming into a fish), repetitive motives of ghosts, amputation, abortion and alienation (like in the story about an apartment building, in which apartments constantly change place and residents risk never finding them again upon returning home) permeate. I adore oneirism and some of her stories reminded me slightly of Cortázar or Onetti. My favourite one, “The Traveling Family”, about a poor family leaving the house and going on a trip, during which all members leave the group one by one until the narrator, a young boy, is left alone, brought stories by Bruno Schulz and films like “Amarcord” by Fellini or “Kosmos” by Reha Erdem to mind. Tse’s talent lies in making her dreamscapes extremely cinematic - sometimes I felt I was reading about one vision after another, without logical flow, where reality blended with metaphysics and fantasy.
And this is what also frustrated me. Many of the stories are completely inconsequential - lacking substance to make me think or feel, leaving me quite bored and unmoved. She cannot depict the emotional state of her characters the way Kafka could. Tse’s language is in no way comparable to the polished beauty and grace of Schulz. Nor can Tse build tension and thrill a reader the way Borges or Cortázar did. There is not enough depth in her writing. With the exception of a handful of stories the majority, in my opinion, would benefit from rewriting them as they do have potential but are simply underdeveloped. There are a lot of great ideas on the pages of “Snow and Shadow” and some would work beautifully executed in short films (Apichatpong Weerasethakul or Tsai Ming-Liang would be perfect to work on them). But overall, “Snow and Shadow” disappoints.
lil_luchi's review against another edition
3.0
weird translation. i'll come back to this collection when i find the original
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