'Strangers' by Taichi Yamada.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

After reading this book I was reminded again how much I like reading books which were originally written in a language other than English. There's always a different flow to the language, a faint echo of the tongue it was orignally written in.

'Strangers' was written in Japanese originally, and you can feel the difference. It's really well translated, and is very readable, but there's something about how the dialogue, in particular, hangs together that is very clearly not English. The cultural assumptions underpinning the novel as well are also clearly not English, American or European, although it is working with a set of emotions which (speaking as someone who lost a parent young) will be very familiar to anyone who has experienced bereavement, no matter what culture you come from.

'Strangers' is about a Japanese script writer, recently divorced and living alone, who begins to encounter two people who seem to be his parents. But his parents died when he was twelve. I don't want to say much more, because I feel that this book could so easily be spoiled by a detailed description of the plot. So much of what makes it interesting are the twists and turns as the whole story unfolds. It isn't what I expected it to be, but it is absolutely beautiful and I found myself sitting in silence for some time after reading it, just absorbing everything that had happened.

Do read this! It's probably the best book I've read as part of the 50books_poc challenge and I would like to wholeheartedly recommend it.

#2, The Corpse Walker, Liao Yiwu, trans. Wen Huang

[b-writes.livejournal.com]

My first piece of advice: Do not read the foreword or introduction until you've read the rest of the book, as it makes it look like the kind of thing you got stuck reading in school and hated. This is not true! My second piece of advice: Read this book.

Liao Yiwu is a Chinese author who spent years in prison for writing a long epic poem about the Tianamen Square massacre. Wikipedia tells me the original work in Chinese is much longer.

The Corpse Walker, original title People from the Bottom Rung of Society, is a collection of Yiwu's interviews with people on the 'outs' in current Chinese society-- street musicians, professional mourners, people who held power during various iterations of the Communist government, and out-and-out criminals. Yiwu is an excellent interviewer, and he's chosen his subjects well.

( There are heroes and villians in the book, but almost everyone is a bit of both )

There are countless small mercies and casual cruelties, and it's amazing to see how small choices could change people's lives. As I continued reading, the sheer madness of living in a country where policies-- and lives-- changed overnight started sinking in. One of the most poignant stories is of a man who'd been a devoted Communist party official-- right until the tanks started rolling by his hotel room window in June 1989.

Highly recommended. The translation is readable, and the stories are well worth reading, often so vibrant and engaging I forgot I was reading non-fiction.