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A review by jooniperd
I Am China by Xiaolu Guo
3.0
what did i think? i am not finished processing the read in my mind yet, but i wanted to get some thoughts down in this space while it's fresh.
so... i found much about this novel fascinating. i have read very little fiction that shines a light on post-tiannamen square china. so the cultural insights were very interesting. as well, i liked the format of the novel: a translator based in london receives a mess of letters and journals and it's up to her to not only translate the work from chinese to english, but to also makes sense of the papers and get them into some coherent order. the papers alternate voices between jian - a punk singer and political activist, and mu - a poet and jian's partner. the translator - iona - gets much time in the novel too. she becomes completely immersed in jian and mu's relationship, but while she is working, we learn a bit about her life and her past. so this format, alternating between the different writings of different characters, coupled with iona in the present, does give a bit of disjointed feel to the work. and i think that helps to reinforce the tone of the novel which is fairly melancholy through lack of physical connections. though it's clear jian and mu had a deep love at one time, life is complicated and life in china is portrayed as adding even further challenges, especially for those who are creatively inclined - poets, musicians, painters... does art only exist as a prop for political beliefs?
guo has a lovely style to her prose. some of her sentences are just beautiful. at other times though, i felt they were a bit overwritten. but the odd experience for me is that i felt kept at a distance while i read. for all the potential in the story, i was never fully immersed, the way iona was. now this may be intentional on guo's part. several times in the book characters are protecting themselves from love. or loving. they want to remain protected. they don't want to be vulnerable. so i get that about the story. but it leaves a bit of an emotional void. i also felt iona wasn't quite as fully realized as she could have been.
having said that, though, i was keen to turn each page and follow guo, wherever she was going. i am still debating the ending... it wasn't surprising, but i find it questionable. so... i think that this is quite an ambitious novel that almost succeeds. while there is much i appreciated, the things that niggled at me became too hard to overlook, to tip this into 4- or 5-star territory.
oh - should note that this book was longlisted for the 2015 bailey's women's prize for fiction. i think it is a good inclusion on the list, and i am curious to see whether it will advance to the shortlist. this it the 5th book (out of 20) which i have read from the longlist. so far... i haven't been in love with any of the five, though they have all been alright. (ringing endorsement... i know! heh! but i am still quite optimistic i will find a gem in the 15 remaining reads.)
edited to add: new interview with xiaolu guo: http://penguinblog.co.uk/2015/03/27/interview-xiaolu-guo-author-of-i-am-china/
so... i found much about this novel fascinating. i have read very little fiction that shines a light on post-tiannamen square china. so the cultural insights were very interesting. as well, i liked the format of the novel: a translator based in london receives a mess of letters and journals and it's up to her to not only translate the work from chinese to english, but to also makes sense of the papers and get them into some coherent order. the papers alternate voices between jian - a punk singer and political activist, and mu - a poet and jian's partner. the translator - iona - gets much time in the novel too. she becomes completely immersed in jian and mu's relationship, but while she is working, we learn a bit about her life and her past. so this format, alternating between the different writings of different characters, coupled with iona in the present, does give a bit of disjointed feel to the work. and i think that helps to reinforce the tone of the novel which is fairly melancholy through lack of physical connections. though it's clear jian and mu had a deep love at one time, life is complicated and life in china is portrayed as adding even further challenges, especially for those who are creatively inclined - poets, musicians, painters... does art only exist as a prop for political beliefs?
guo has a lovely style to her prose. some of her sentences are just beautiful. at other times though, i felt they were a bit overwritten. but the odd experience for me is that i felt kept at a distance while i read. for all the potential in the story, i was never fully immersed, the way iona was. now this may be intentional on guo's part. several times in the book characters are protecting themselves from love. or loving. they want to remain protected. they don't want to be vulnerable. so i get that about the story. but it leaves a bit of an emotional void. i also felt iona wasn't quite as fully realized as she could have been.
having said that, though, i was keen to turn each page and follow guo, wherever she was going. i am still debating the ending... it wasn't surprising, but i find it questionable. so... i think that this is quite an ambitious novel that almost succeeds. while there is much i appreciated, the things that niggled at me became too hard to overlook, to tip this into 4- or 5-star territory.
oh - should note that this book was longlisted for the 2015 bailey's women's prize for fiction. i think it is a good inclusion on the list, and i am curious to see whether it will advance to the shortlist. this it the 5th book (out of 20) which i have read from the longlist. so far... i haven't been in love with any of the five, though they have all been alright. (ringing endorsement... i know! heh! but i am still quite optimistic i will find a gem in the 15 remaining reads.)
edited to add: new interview with xiaolu guo: http://penguinblog.co.uk/2015/03/27/interview-xiaolu-guo-author-of-i-am-china/