Family Catastrophe: A Modernist Novel

by Wang Wen-Hsing, Wen-Hsing Wang, Susan Wan Dolling (Translator)

When originally written in 1972, Wang Wen-hsing’s ‘Family Catastrophe’ created a ton of controversy. His story of a dysfunctional family flew in the face of the Confucian concept of respect for parents.

The story revolves around a young man named Fan Yeh, and is unfolded in a non-traditional time-lapse interpretation involving an older step-brother, a mother consumed by jealousy, and a hard-working but ineffectual father ultimately beaten down by a system over which he has no control. Set in post-1949 Taiwan, this novel is an intimate revelation of a family's journey to catastrophe. The father of the all-too-ordinary Fan family suddenly flees from home; his son, Fan Yeh, sets off to search for him but is repeatedly unsuccessful, returning alone to the anxiously waiting mother.

As it tracks Fan Yeh's fruitless search, Wang Wen-hsing's innovative narrative unfolds the history of this family, depicting relationships both tender and brutal and divulging secrets of poverty and abuse, love and hate. Working through the complex metaphor of the family, Wang Wen-hsing examines that dissolution of a traditional ethical system and cultural identity which is the harrowing and inevitable path to modernism.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Tenma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was brilliantly written. It talks about the life and the relationship between three primary characters in a family; a father, mother, and son, with the anchor of the novel being the son. It starts with a scene where the father abruptly leaves the house to never return. The novel then takes you back through a journey into the history of the family so that you would understand by the end of the novel why the father left. To do so, the novel takes the format of flashbacks, each ranging from few lines to several pages in length. They start when the son was a child and end when he was in his late twenties, the time when the father left. Although these snippets are unrelated, their aim is to give you a glimpse into family dynamics. You could feel the passage of time, the slow degeneration of the family, and the progression of misery and poverty as you read through. You would readily visualize how the family is heading towards a "catastrophe" - the title of the novel.

The writing style and the topic are very unusual since they defy the cultural norms of the time. This novel was written in the 70's, a conservative time in Taiwanese history. Which should explain the bad rap it received at the time. But because of its rebellious theme it withered the criticism to become what is considered today a masterpiece in Taiwanese literature.

I would give the novel four or five stars if it is read for its literary value in Taiwanese history and its writing style. However, since this was not my intention, I did not like the fragmented approach and I hated the feel of misery and the sheer sadness of the story. The first half of the novel was boring and the ending was emotionally draining and unsatisfying. Overall, the novel stands against everything I believe in. This is why I gave it 2.5 starts (or 3 stars since that was the only option available).

[Brady Turpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe this was someone's first novel; absolutely amazing. Wang Wen-Hsing (also know as Taiwan's James Joyce) truly did produce a masterpiece here. I am still processing my thoughts on this book, but I can say with confidence I liked it.

This also really made me think on my own familial relationships, especially that of my late father. Change is hard and complex. Wang shows this in a truly artful way.

[Isabel Ledezma · Rating 4 out of 5]

like watching a train wreck, impossible to look away from the absolute disaster of a cast of characters, but ultimately made me feel like I just watched an A24 movie so I approve

[Laur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this read, translation was easy to follow, it didn't really maintain the off-ness of modernist literature that my friends who read it in it Chinese say it was penned in (this translation comes 20 years after it was published). I felt my own complicated feelings toward my parents mirrored in the protagonist - though by the end his behavior has become so extreme he's barely a sympathetic character. The reader is forced to reckon with the nuance of familial relationships and how we exist as perpetually morally gray.

[Shin Huei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too true of the toxic side of 「孝道」engraved in all Asian families constantly creeps me out whilst reading. Can’t even find any proper translation for this kind of emotion in any language other than in Chinese it’s the proof though. Love and hate, respect and despise, rebellious and fear, passive and engaged, all entangled in our original sin.

[George S · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly brilliant, conceptually vigorous in its approach to sucking the joy out of life. it's miserable, perhaps a little too narrow-focused, yet all the while careful to unfold possibly one of the most minutely disastrous families in fiction

the twist (can you call it a twist?) is also just really effective, if not almost funny.

[Lewis Joan Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

這本書顛覆了我對中文可能性的認識。中文，對於大多人來說，只是一種交流的工具，但是，大多人（包括我在內）都是糟糕的使用者，以及缺乏想像力的。《家變》最有創造性的是，一方面，作者自創了很多以「口」為偏旁的漢字——所以要買實體書——用以精準人在日常交流中出現的語氣詞；再者，文本內容很多句子的語法都不是我們熟悉的結構，因此，閱讀起來頗有難度。可能是為了體現出男主人公父母的福建背景，他們的一些話語有閩南特色，也有一些所謂錯字，難道作者是想暗示此二人國語水平不高，從而用文字來表達？這僅僅是我的猜想。總之，本作的語言形式是作者想要表達的。

[Ally Yang]

[2023.10.28_126]

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, the ending appears to be emotional unsatisfying and inconclusive as the father is never found. However, I have immediately come to realize that his disappearance mirrors his inner disappearance of self, paralleled by his Alzheimer's symptoms (the reason for his initial disappearance). The ending is quite tragic, and I honestly think the son is too harsh to his father. But it makes sense. After the source of tension and grief is gone (aka the father), the family is happier and better off without him than with him.

Overall, a brilliant novel that explores the traditional values of filial piety as well as the relationship between a father and a son under the hierarchical structure of Chinese family. A realistic, emotional and at times disturbing read.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'm finished" (as Goodreads puts it) is a gross overstatement, as I'm afraid I've only scratched the surface of this complex 小說.
It is one of the most challenging - and intriguing - novels I've read in a while, and resonates deeply with the 封建家庭 themes I've encountered in the texts I read for Chinese class this year.


Full review:
http://may-theforcebewithyou.blogspot...

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

一個關於1950-1970年代，一個家庭怎麼樣從小孩還是幼兒，家人感情很好，到長大成人至二十多歲，跟父母關係冷淡，甚至「虐待」父親，父親不堪其擾離家出走再也沒回來的故事。我說實在的，那個兒子非常幼稚、EQ很低，他厭煩父母或是貧窮的家境的一些點都是很小的小事，但對他而言卻比天還大。我有偷偷懷疑他也許精神不是很正常。這個家庭的父母說實在的，品格也不是非常正直，兒子對他們沒有仰慕之情是可以理解的，但是他們雖然人格有瑕疵，對兒子的關愛仍是真實且自我犧牲的，根本不應該遭到兒子那樣的對待。他們只是比較倒楣遇到了精神衰弱的兒子.....然後他們夫婦個性較軟弱，當時的文化與環境也讓他們沒有資源去幫助兒子的心理變得健康，可能也沒有這方面的知識吧。另外，這本書的作者故意使用非常多的錯別字以及錯誤文法，讀起來非常不順，感覺像在打字不會選字且中文本來就不太好的外國人寫的故事 XD 據說這樣的文字是作者故意為之，對我而言除了干擾閱讀之外沒有感受到作者想藉此表達的東西。

[Lieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

i didn't actually read the last 20 pages so this is technically a dnf, but i got so close to the end (i.e., i read the first 200 pages) so i'm just saying i finished it.