羽蛇

by Xu Xiaobin, 徐小斌

这本书凝聚了作者用心书写的9个短篇。这些形式各异的小说，是现实与作者内心碰撞出来的火花，她们时而激烈，时而温情，时而荒诞，时而躁动，时而魔幻，有着一种青年的热气，在无限地靠近人的内心。

青年作家浮蓝作序推荐——

·故事中的人物生活在一座灰色的、安静的城市里，城市的天空是乏味梦境的底色，但是这里没有光。没有光源，没有光线，那你又是如何看到并抵达这座城市的？答案便是象子的小说。

·象子的小说也有点残忍，几乎每一则都会出现一些“肮脏”的令人不适的事物。看看它都描摹了些什么？女人的裸体。男人的裸体。尸体。纹身。嗑药。黄片。精液。易装。腐臭的猫。发霉的食物。蟑螂军队。我发现我爱极了这些元素，不仅仅是它们因为其自身之异引人注目，它们所创造出的反差效果更是令人惊慌的，它们以其自身的夸张姿态，逼你赤裸面对，进而引领你步入一种紧张的、前行中的，生活状态。

·他创造了他...

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乔叶编著的《拆楼记》内容介绍：“我”姐姐家所在的张庄，即将成为市高新区的组成部分，姐姐和同村人想趁着土地被征之前抢先盖楼，以获取更多的政府补偿。为帮助姐蛆脱贫致富，“我”身不由己地成了这一重大举措的参与者和背后军师。楼盖好之后，结成统一战线的十几家人家先后遭到上级部门的各种瓦解，一场巨大的较量拉锯战一样展开。在种种现实利诱或威胁面前，统一战线逐渐分崩离析，何去何从？怎么选择都令人心有不甘，结局出人意料，令人难以释怀。

《拆楼记》既有纪实作品的现场感，亦有小说的精巧架构与卓越的叙事技巧，更兼学者般的缜密与思辨力。它重在刻写人与人之间细腻微妙的情感变迁；人心的向背与暗角，人性的脉络与真相，令人无力逼视。

《风庐散记:宗璞自选精品集》内容简介：她在长篇小说、中篇小说、短篇小说、散文、儿童文学等方面体裁的创作中，都达到国内一流，并被选入各类大、中、小学教材。《风庐散记:宗璞自选精品集》是宗璞的第一部自选作品精品集，收入了她文章写作的代表作品，代表着她创作上取得的成就，还精选了插图。宗璞的这些作品既有精湛的内容，以情感人，以理动人，更是用真诚心灵与读者架起一座桥梁。同时，这些文章深得中国传统文化的底蕴，流动着中国古老的文脉，是当代文的杰出成就。《风庐散记:宗璞自选精品集》既是对当代文写作的总结，也是给文章写作提供的一个范本，还是当代文学教学研究的重要参考，更是我们欣赏美文的最佳读物之一。它是值得当代人阅读、欣赏、收藏的一本当代文代表选本。

本文讲述了一对寻常的北京父子的亲情历程。他们从互相依赖到分歧、对立，再经过一次偶然的共同上路，终于实现了和解，并各自对人生有了新的领悟。作品不仅对亲情，也对北京这个国际化大都市在发展进程中的变化有着独特的描述和理解。风格幽默清新，情感真挚感人。

本书是著名青年学者、诗歌评论家谭五昌在北京师范大学课堂上进行当代诗歌讲授的文字实录，是国内高校广大学生理想的文学读物，也是广大诗歌爱好者极具鉴赏价值的诗歌类读物。

《一派胡言:阎连科海外演讲集》是作家阎连科先生的演讲集，收录了作者自2008年2月至2011年底4年间在海外的20次演讲文稿，主要内容涉及个人写作、文学批判、人生思考、社会现实等诸多问题，是其个人写作实践和生活的经验总结，振聋发聩，发人深省，是一个作家内心最真实的心灵拷问和真话实录。

作为资深音乐发烧友的主人公，以为高端客户定制高级音响设备为生。一天，他接到了一个神秘人物的订单，从此陷入诡异莫测的谜局……

小说设置了重重悬念，讲述了自上世纪七十年代至今，社会剧变中的人们追名逐利而起伏跌宕、凶险无着的命运。

全书贯穿了对古典音乐的优美诠释和倾心礼赞，以之与书中无序和充满欲望的世界构成强烈的张力场，而情节的惊悚与繁复的构造又体现了某种黑暗、残酷等哥特式艺术特征。

本书的写作延续了作者自“乌托邦三部曲”以来对现实世界高度的关注与思省。

这是苗炜的第二本小说集，包括《警察与外星人》《黑夜飞行》《你知道的太多了》《幸福大酒店》《星期天早上的远足》五篇中短篇小说。

苗炜的小说轻灵、干净，智性，没有任何阅读的累赘。他用戏剧化的故事讲述都市人的孤独与私密的梦想。

如《警察与外星人》，两个偶然交集的普通人，一个坚持心里的秘密与守望，一个渴望生活上的变化，寻求另一种可能，到头来，他们都对生活的另一种可能产生幻灭，只能有的，不过是你我现在正在进行着的生活。《你知道的太多了》，讯息日益繁杂，人心日益浮躁。利益驱动下发生的一场闹剧，俱乐部知识竞赛成为各自的作秀。作者独特的文学视角，别出机杼，趣味独特，引发读者对人心的自省。而《黑夜飞行》给我们带来的是孤独的人自我修复，自我拯救的挣扎……

《状元媒》著名作家叶广芩的最新长篇小说，是作者家族系列作品最精彩最具代表性之作，讲述了清朝最后一位状元刘春霖做媒，促成了皇室后裔父亲金瑞祓与平民母亲陈美珍的婚姻，由此而引发了金家大宅门里的家庭成员和亲戚朋友的故事。以小格格“我”的视角为轴线，冠以十一部京剧戏名而写成。 从辛亥革命开始到改革开放的今天，跳跃性地写了背景百年的人物众生相，北京百姓的价值观念，北京社会的风土人情。对于北京的过去和现在，这类话题人们似乎总是说也说不完……那些个细节，那些个欢乐，那些个拾掇不起来的零碎，如同一瓶陈放多年的佳酿，夜静时慢慢品来悠远绵长，回味无穷。作者动用了她最独特、最难忘、最熟悉的生活素材，构思精巧、精心创作而成。叶广芩对传统文化的直接体验与研习和对世事交变的经历与敏锐感知，促成自身修养所具有的学识与胸襟，加之现实主义浪漫的艺术风格，都赋予了这部作品非比寻常的文字...

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《恨枇杷》叶弥小说中的人物不管来自乡村小镇，还是行走在都市大道，内心都充满着矛盾和痛苦、失意和挣扎，给读者呈现了他们难以名状的生活状态。而这些都在作者看似平淡的叙述中累积着蓬勃的张力，刺激着读者的神经。叶弥是冷酷的，但不是骄横的、自我专注似的冷酷，而是说在每一篇小说开始前，叶弥已经站在生活和人性的底线上，她知道事情本来如此或必会如此，她不抱什么幻想。所以叶弥的冷酷是一种透彻，透彻之后再看笔下的人与事，才会有怜悯和同情。

怜悯和同情是一种高贵的情怀，怜悯不仅是怜悯我们的不幸，更是怜悯我们的罪。这也许是小说具备的根本价值。当我们怜悯他人的罪时，这是冷酷，也是慈悲。

《白日梦》艾玛的短篇小说大多围绕着“涔水镇”这个地理环境来写，情节内容电多以表现为人所注意不到的细微琐事为主。但因其从容淡定、不温不火的叙事方式，涔水镇及这个地方的人物慢慢在读者的心中鲜活而且亲切起来。艾玛的小说笔触，处处逼近现实生活，并且因常常赋予法学背景，因此显得刚强而充满力量。而艾玛所关注的人文背景和普通人群，又因其内心的安详与慈悲而充满了亲和。

这种亲和与刚强相互结合，使得艾玛的故事具有强烈的张力，瞬间会占据读者的内心世界。

《出麦田记:与世俗无关》主要内容简介：《小爱人》，当你唱着歌，走在海面上，白蓬花与晚霞一起绽放，你说要带我飞向夕阳家，洒下蔷薇漫天芬芳，当你笑着说，樱花已开放，我看见你白衣上的花香，你说四月天花草铺天堂，想要驾鹤陪我去求凰，当你唱着歌，舞在白云上，夕阳吻晚霞入画，你浅浅的酒窝对我远远笑，秋水之西红霞飞，当你对我说，从此无棺忘，月老已定鸳鸯谱上，枫叶红花天与君长相守，读尽人间烟火去远方。

《知在》紧紧围绕古画展开。一个又一个看似毫无关联的偶遇，串联起这幅画卷在人问的颠沛流离；一代又一代收藏者，相互间有着不清不楚、千丝万缕的联系。谁也不知道这幅古画缘自一段凄美而惨烈的爱情，然而，凡与之有瓜葛者，大多命途多舛。是宿命，还是暗藏玄机？《知在》以纯文学笔法描述悬疑情节，于平实中见惊悚，于灵动中诉沧桑，写出了作家“另一面”的独特想象与探究，传达出作家对“知”与“在”的思考，更有几分难以言说的“禅”意，以长篇小说少见的简洁凝练、大捭大阖，把一个诡异离奇的故事写得神秘、空灵、动人心魄，读来酣畅、大气，耐人寻味。

《边城》是沈从文小说的代表作，是我国文学史上一部优秀的抒发乡土情怀的中篇小说。它以20世纪30年代川湘交界的边城小镇茶峒为背景，以兼具抒情诗和小品文的优美笔触，描绘了湘西边地特有的风土人情；借船家少女翠翠的爱情悲剧，凸显出了人性的善良美好与心灵的澄澈纯净。它以独特的艺术魅力，生动的乡土风情吸引了众多海内外的读者，也奠定了《边城》在中国现代文学史上的特殊地位。

《漂移者》内容简介：马克搭乘的飞机，将要降落上海浦东机场的刹那，由于风大，机身颠簸起来，机长拉高飞机，转着圈子徐徐降落。马克从窗子望出去，黑漆漆的天地间摇晃着一大片耀眼的灯火……平生难得感觉到的恐慌袭击了他。面对这片陌生的土地，只带了几千美金的他，真的能够找到出路吗？

作者曾于1986年12月15日至1996年4月15日任《读书》编辑部编辑，当时的《读书》杂志正处于黄金时期，堪称中国思想学术界动态的晴雨表，一度为国内读书界瞩目的中心。书稿以《读书》编辑部的日常事务、编著往来为中心，从作者个人的角度，记录了当时与《读书》发生往来的知识界 的种种情况。书稿以编辑部日常活动、编著往来等为主要内容，但并非简单的工作日志，而是保存了非常丰富的内容，既有叙事，亦有议论和感想。对于一些过世的老学者，本书的一些相关内容，在一定程度上，则具有言行录的性质，吉光片羽，弥足珍贵。书中另收入人物照片、往来书札等插图近五十幅。已出版《〈读书〉十年》的第一本，本书1991年—1993年是第二本，第三本（1994年—1996年）将陆续出版。

《帝王密码》是一部长篇小说，作者陆家。

《帝王密码》主要写一个疯狂历史学家的故事，该历史学家要做“史学界的袁隆平”，因此跟他相关的一切都天翻地覆波诡云谲……

诡异，荒诞，扭曲。一切，皆因“帝王密码”而起。

“王侯将相宁有种乎？有种！”这是一个结论，更藏着“帝王密码”的真相。“如果你愿意，你也可以生出个帝王来。”这不是玩笑，这是现实！假相、表相、真相，历史、现实、未来，纠结在一起。一个惊天的秘密慢慢浮出水面。它关乎主人公的命运和生死，更关乎整个人类的未来……

《羽蛇》从清朝末年说起，讲述了一个家族五代女人曲折跌宕的命运故事。五代性格迥然的女人在时空的沧海桑田中，在血脉的传承中。自我复制、变异和追求。小说采用了多种叙述手法，情节奇异神秘，语言如诗如画，想象天马行空，以独特的视角揭示了女性生活的独特精神内涵。

Genres: Fiction, China, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Asia, Chinese Literature

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Xu Xiaobin 徐小斌 is a prolific writer of novels, novellas, essays, and prose, as well as scripts for television and film. She was born in 1953 into an intellectual family in Beijing and is a member of the China’s Writers Association. She spent nine years in the countryside and at a factory during the Cultural Revolution until 1978 when she entered the Chinese University of Central Finance just after universities had reopened and entrance examinations were held nation wide. She began publishing her writings in 1981. Currently she works as a staff screenplay writer at China’s Television Production Center. She has published numerous fictions, novellas and collections of prose.

Her novel Feathered Serpent (Yushe 羽蛇) was published in English in 2010, and in 2011 also, the translation of her novel Dunhuang Dreams (Dunhuang yimeng 敦煌遗梦) was released. She regularly participates in international conferences on women’s writing, and was awarded the Lu Xun Prize for Literature for her 1998 novella Pisces (Shuangyu xingzuo 雙魚星座). She is also highly regarded as a painter and is skilled in the folk art of paper engraving.

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

If anyone expected uniformity in a network of Chinese women, Xu offers a galaxy of eccentricity. These women are artists, killers, courtesans, thieves, aristocrats, laborers, or pathologically anti-social dreamers. They move through a century and a half of history, driven almost entirely by their own inner demons, regardless of any social change around them. It's a haunting parade of dreams and nightmares, which are utterly unique to each individual woman.

[Saturn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tra la massa ci sarà sempre qualcuno pronto a inginocchiarsi e a quel punto la maggioranza lo seguirà. Quelli che restano in piedi sono sempre una minoranza. E le minoranze che non s'inginocchiano vengono facilmente eliminate.

Il serpente piumato è una saga famigliare al femminile che attraverso lo sguardo di cinque generazioni di donne racconta la storia della Cina dalla metà dell'Ottocento a oggi. Il perno centrale del racconto è la giovane Yu e la sua non conformità alla società che la circonda. Yu è la più piccola di tre sorelle in una famiglia in cui nascono pochi maschi o muoiono giovani. Poco dopo la nascita del fratellino, Yu lo soffoca accidentalmente e questo evento la metterà in eterno contrasto con la madre Ruomu e la segnerà per tutta la vita. Yu comincerà un lungo cammino di redenzione e ricerca mantenendo sempre una visione trascendentale della vita. Ma le vicende incredibili della sua storia sono il mezzo che Xu Xiaobin sceglie per raccontare la Cina moderna. La sua naturale impossibilità di scendere a compromessi con la società per come è, fanno di lei un bersaglio e una minaccia. La sua spiritualità e il suo anticonformismo sono segni di follia da allontanare e curare. Così come i suoi quadri disturbanti, che esprimono un disagio per il presente in netto contrasto con l'immagine di una società felice e coesa. Yu diventa la killer del glorioso futuro della Cina, lanciata verso un progressivo e infinito benessere. E così Yu, eternamente giovane perché pura di cuore, potrà riconciliarsi con la madre solo sacrificando sé stessa e sopprimendo la sua diversità.

Inizialmente la lettura di questo romanzo può essere disagevole per i continui riferimenti alla storia e alla spiritualità cinese (in questo vengono in aiuto le note a fine volume) che un comune lettore occidentale non riesce a cogliere; ma a mano a mano che si entra in sintonia col testo si percepisce l'universalità dei temi trattati e di come esso non parli solo ai cinesi e dei cinesi. Il mondo che viene dipinto mostra un paesaggio non troppo diverso dal nostro: i giovani che si ribellano e che finiscono per tradire sé stessi e i propri ideali, il potere che controlla le masse tramite i media, l'ignoranza del passato che proietta la società in un vuoto di valori, la visione del diverso come una minaccia e il disagio interiore che egli prova nei confronti della società... In questo quadro desolante gli unici vincitori saranno gli spregiudicati e gli approfittatori e il sacrificio di persone come Yu sarà per una minoranza paralizzata che non avrà i mezzi per agire.

Non è un testo semplice, ci sono moltissimi personaggi e tanti sbalzi temporali che possono far perdere il filo narrativo. Ma l'edizione è ben curata, con uno schema della famiglia e un elenco dei personaggi che nel caso può essere d'aiuto. E soprattutto c'è un ottimo apparato di note che agevola la lettura.

(commento del febbraio 2017)

[Mandy Tanksley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Xu Xioabin's first novel to be translated into English, "Feathered Serpent" spends much of it's nearly four hundred pages flipping back and forth between stories of the four generations of family and friends featured within. Many of the characters are only somewhat believable and realistic and not very likable. This in itself does not make this a bad read. There are other books out there (including some that I have enjoyed) that feature the flaws of this particular book. I'm not sure if it's the book or the translation that made this so hard to get into. By moving back and forth between different characters' stories, the book tends to lose it's focus. One section will be about a certain character and be in the third person then in the next section the book remains on the same character but changes to first person. Some of the characters are called by two different names (i.e. the main character is called both Yushe and Yu). This started out confusing, but became less so after I read further into the book. The story revolves around Yushe, her family, and "friends" as they grow old (but not really up). They struggle to communicate with each other and cannot find love or a suitable life for themselves. They try controlling each other by playing on each others feelings and emotions (or lack thereof). There are several dream-like scenes woven throughout the story that do nothing to help move it along. The writing is not always bad. There are passages in the book that are beautiful and poetic. It is these parts that help me to understand why Xu Xioabin is praised for her work. Still, the book was hard to get through and I'm actually thankful the trip is over.

[KristenR · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two stars is really pushing it...may get downgraded to one star after letting it sit for a bit.

The format Just didn't work. Not only did it have multiple POV, there were multiple 3rd person POV AND multiple 1st person POV. Without a linear timeline to keep everything tied together I was often confused.

I may have been more forgiving if I actually enjoyed the story or cared about any of the characters. I did not. The only reason I finished the book was because I wanted to know why Yu had the lobotomy in the first chapter. I drudged though 340 pages before I found out - and by then I didn't care anymore.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5*

Sono stata un po' indecisa sulle stelline da assegnare a questo libro. Non è che non mi sia piaciuto o che non sia interessante, anzi (saga familiare al femminile che copre quattro generazioni e circa un secolo di storia cinese, con personaggi tremendi e pieni di difetti? Sign me up), ma ho da subito preso in antipatia i continui cambi di POV, il passaggio dalla terza alla prima persona e i continui salti temporali. Quando questo succede, purtroppo, c'è poco da fare, andrà quasi sicuramente a influire sul mio giudizio complessivo. Ho trovato anche molto amare e molto, molto tristi i destini della maggior parte dei personaggi in particolare quello Yu She che decide di vivere una vita "normale" facendosi lobotomizzare, rinunciando a se stessa e trovando, in cambio, l'amore della madre che l'ha odiata dal primo vagito ma, del resto, non può sempre esserci un lieto fine e i finali più "veri" e sentiti sono proprio questi, per quanto sconfortanti siano.

[Stephen Durrant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is ambitious in almost every way. It spans four generations of women and expands outward into the lives of a variety of others. The political background to the narrative extends from the Taiping Revolution in the 1860's up to the years just after Tiananmen. The narrative moves quite freely back and forth in time and also shifts from a third-person to a variety of first-person perspectives. Furthermore, realism blends together with dream sequences, mysticism and magic. Overarching all of this is a statement about the desperate lives of Chinese women in both traditional and modern China, a theme that won Xu Xiaobin a prize for feminist literature. The central character is Yushe, the "feathered serpent." As a child of six, she killed her younger brother, which earned her the hate of her mother and the scorn of many others. She is a tragic, possibly crazy, figure, who is finally lobotomized in the final pages of the novel (no "spoiler" necessary since this is clearly foreshadowed right as the novel begins). Once Yushe is lobotomized, she becomes happy and is accepted well by all, including her mother! Get the message? The best way for a thinking woman to be happy in China is to rush right out and get a lobotomy! Well, I'm not sure all of this works, but I must say that "Feathered Serprent" does contain some very powerful, well-written pages. Is it worth the time? That depends on how much time you have.

[Martina A · Rating 4 out of 5]

In una Pechino che tuttavia non viene mai nominata,si intrecciano le storie di una famiglia cinese dall'epoca imperiale. Lo scorrere del romanzo non rispetta una cronologia lineare: proprio come l’insolito albero genealogico che ci aiuta ad orizzontarci all’inizio del libro, anche le storie raccontate paiono spostarsi indietro e in avanti e poi di lato, portando alla ribalta l’una o l’altra delle donne della famiglia, spesso cedendo loro la parola in prima persona. È un romanzo epico, del genere che di per sé ci pare il più adeguato per rappresentare una paese vasto come la Cina, una saga famigliare un romanzo d’amore che pare quasi stilizzato, tale è la delicatezza e la ritrosia con cui si parla di sentimenti. È, infine, un romanzo sulla colpa e sull’espiazione - e forse non è un caso che la colpevole sembri in realtà più vittima che criminale.

[Ligeia · Rating 3 out of 5]

il serpente femmina

veleni e sfortune di una famiglia cinese dall'epoca imperiale fino ai giorni nostri

il canovaccio è classico, la solita epopea cinese su più generazioni con le donne come protagoniste, ma la narrazione prende in esame più punti di vista e spicca tra tutto la perfidia di alcune delle donne protagoniste, molto sarà di certo dovuto alla visione culturale cinese che vuole le donne sottomesse alle suocere, ma qua si esagera un tantino...la madre che fa lobotomizzare la figlia ribelle ancora non l'avevo vista da nessuna parte, eh si che di film e libri cinesi ormai posso dire di aver letto e visto più di quanto sia umanamente possibile per un non cinese...

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

not sure if this is a translation thing or not but I found after 100 pages I could not go on. I felt as if the book's various narrators were preaching rather than living. I was disappointed as I had been looking forward to reading this.

[Champaign Public Library · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a horrible novel. I can't tell if it is a bad translation or it was always horrid. The story jumps around too much and changes voice too many times to keep the action straight. The characters were also people I could not bring myself to care about.

[Azziba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I would have enjoyed this book more if the plot had been more linear. The metaphors and writing were very beautiful at certain parts of the book.

[Baljit · Rating 1 out of 5]

The tone was somber and the syntax dull, so I gave up after a few chapters. Maybe something was lost in translation.

[Samanta Sitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una storia che ne contiene tante altre, un incastro dai toni lirici che connette e divide le vite delle donne della famiglia She. Il perno centrale è la vita di Yu, bambina e poi donna dalla sensibilità unica e spiccata, che si muove tra realtà e visioni: il suo peccato la costringerà a un lungo viaggio interiore e esteriore di espiazione e ricerca della redenzione. Tanti piccoli dettagli che compaiono nei paragrafi dedicati a lei vengono ampliati attraverso la storia delle sue antenate, donne decisamente peculiari e uniche, che ci mostrano con le loro vicende i cambiamenti profondi e radicali attraversati dalla Cina. Passiamo dal periodo imperiale, dalla cultura ben precisa e delineata, dai rituali antichi e immutabile, agli anni successivi la rivoluzione di Mao, dove una nuova generazione si trova perduta senza i riferimenti di cui avevano beneficiato i suoi genitori e nonni e non sa come districarsi nelle difficoltà della vita, se non cercando altrova un modello in cui potersi incastrare.
Lo stile di Xu Xiaobin sa essere molto lirico e poetico, l'ho trovato molto diverso da quello di tanti scrittori e scrittrici occidentali ma gradevole.
Sono un po' seccata dalla definizione "donna forte" applicata praticamente a ogni figura femminile che compare nel romanzo, immagino sull'onda di questo neo-femminismo che vuole forti solo le donne. Persone che portano rancore per tutta una vita, rifiutando il perdono a chi si impegna per anni per ottenere una briciola del loro affetto, o persone ipocrite che impongono ideali e comportamenti agli altri e che in privato fanno esattamente il contrario, per me non sono "forti".
In generale ho gradito molto questo romanzo e le sue atmosfere particolari, non escludo di rileggerlo in futuro!

[ReadForDessert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oggettivamente interessante e ben scritto, purtroppo però per quanto mi riguarda non è scattata del tutto la scintilla.

Il Serpente Piumato è un romanzo corale al femminile il cui personaggio cardine è Yu She, attorno al quale si muovono (e si raccontano) le vite di donne diversissime tra loro per carattere, età e destini immerse in un fiume di fortune e disgrazie che sfumano uno nell'altro, il tutto raccontato in modo estremamente evocativo ed intrigante, con toni spesso onirici e poetici.
Nonostante io abbia molto apprezzato lo stile di questo romanzo, non sono riuscita ad apprezzarlo fino in fondo, a seguire il filo della storia (al fil rouge della vita di Yu She si intrecciano capitoli dedicati alla vita di altri personaggi, e alla lunga questo mi ha fatto perdere il senso generale della storia).

Un piccolo neo che mi sento di segnalare è lo squilibrio tra personaggi femminili e maschili: mentre i personaggi femminili vengono dipinti in tutta la loro complessità, valorizzandone sia difetti che pregi ed esaltandone la forza di volontà, i desideri e il carattere, i personaggi maschili a mio parere sono stati molto minimizzati, spesso rappresentati come meschini, deboli, crudeli o rozzi, quando non un mero strumento di trama... in un romanzo composto da voci femminili ci sta concentrarsi quasi esclusivamente sulle vite di queste ultime, ma è un peccato quando questo viene fatto togliendo spessore al resto dei personaggi.

Un romanzo non perfetto ma nemmeno da buttare, con le dovute premesse ne consiglierei comunque la lettura.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly depressing but not unenjoyable; the characters felt real even in all their unpleasantness, and I was invested in the conclusion. The plot sort of meandered, and at times what seemed to me to be the random and impromptu changing of narrators was confusing. The ending was unsatisfying but poignant, and the sense of beauty that somehow survived was worth it.

[Otillaf · Rating 2 out of 5]

il confine tra interessante e tedio più assoluto è molto sottile...

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Nearly all beautiful women have ill-fated lives. Our story is no different."

On the day that Yu's little brother is born, Yu's mother and grandmother, for the first time in their lives are united and in agreement. They have formed an alliance. They join together in their hatred toward six year old Yu. Yu's father is seldom home and so it is an easy thing to make him an accomplice in their treatment of Yu.
Yu loves her parents and wants only as a small girl to be loved in return and denied that; she builds a shell of resilience around herself.

Yu comes to live with Jinwu, an exotically beautiful woman. Yu loves the beautiful house. "Yu adored it. Compared to the place she had lived before, this was truly a paradise. Yu enclosed herself in this house from dawn until dusk, cherishing every moment of life therein. It became her protective coloration, her armor, her cocoon."

This beautifully written book takes place over a hundred years from the 1890's to the 1990's with many characters involved. The Chinese names, for me, were difficult to keep straight and so I relied upon writing them down with a little note about each person. And then I realized at the back of the book the author has kindly done this already. It is a huge help!

This book is so beautifully and tragically written. A little caution though, Xu Xiaoban is not your average writer; there is a lot of psychoanalysis in the book that seems odd to a westerner. Also, I would think two translators working together on this book would smooth out the translation but it is a bit clunky and obvious that it is translated.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an ambitious story, told through the eyes of several women, over a long period of time, who are connected to each other through often elusive and uncertain blood ties. It is about the balance of life, about revenge and repentance, and tragedy of being an individual in a society which exists as a coherent whole, and roots out any difference with thoughtless cruelty. It is about survival and defeat, politics and family. The Lu family, with Yu at its heart, reflects the turmoil of the times through their own struggles and passions.

The narrative jumps back and forth through time, characters, and most significantly, from first to third person narration. This does not take away from the impact of the book, but emphasizes its tragedy, and weaves its story together. This trick of narrative switches without indicating whose first person voice we are reading, is a way of telling a collective story, a story that threads its way through time and space and several points of view to tell itself completely.

The John Gibbon translation seems forced and too literal to be truly beautiful, and is not as good as such a complex narrative requires, but it serves well enough to convey the heart of the story.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a country’s story
as told through the lives of women.

And the dysfunctional, problematic lives
of these women
are told with such detail
and honest, gritty wonderment.

These decades of unrest
and changes in China
reflected in a family
so weathered and fragile
and a girl so abused
by the world and its people
and a world so unsure
of its political future…

This book is a journey
from childhood through death.

This book is a celebration
of rebirth and survival, told
with such truth, intelligence
and love.

(Find more poems written in response to books over on my blog: https://aimeegreenwriter.wordpress.com)

[Fanfan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so surprised to find one of my favorite books has such a bad translation that many foreigners can't appreciate its real beauty. I red it in Chinese, this is absolutely a gorgeous book! The structure of the novel, the construction of the figures, the words guide us to feel the art of writing of Xu Xiaobin. Perhaps because of all theses reasons, the translator, who just wasn't capable to translate the charms of this book, translated it in a very irresponsible way. The writer has said herself that this is the book that costed her most of the energy, and even of the blood. This is the first book review that I have written in Goodreads, because I can't support such a good book treated like this. 徐小斌说雨蛇是她最伤筋动骨的一篇小说。Que toutes les mauvaises traductions n'apparaissent jamais !

[Laura K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I am amazed at the way this book weaves together the past and present, dreams, symbols, fictional events and historical events of five generations of a very large family. When I lost tract of who was speaking or was confused about the possible meaning, I just relaxed and read for the pure joy of it. This is an interesting book for discussion because different people can have different interpretations. I enjoy books about China, and I enjoy multigenerational tales, so I was attracted to this book. I'm glad I read it.

[Karmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character Yushen's story is intertwined with that of all her female family members - direct blood and friends. The main story wraps around Yu, her mother Ruomu, and grandmother Xuanming.

Their story is written across the texture of China's expansion and political upheaval. It is a minor character though at best.

I felt the book attempted too much and short shifted Yu's story.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was so interesting yet the jumping back and forth between characters, adding story after story of other characters from one time to another ruined it. Near the end it felt dragged out and I found it hard to keep interested in this book. There were a few parts that I enjoyed but the faults of this book ruined it for me.

[Melissa Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was long and dry at times. I almost tossed it, a couple of times. I understand a lot can be lost in translation, but I did find it confusing at times. It flipped too much between 3rd person and 1st person and, the characters. Who...who are we talking about now? Too many name changes too. (I also admit, I skipped over the poetry.) ;)

[Kristina Hoerner · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a horrible novel. I can't tell if it is a bad translation or it was always horrid. The story jumps around too much and changes voice too many times to keep the action straight. The characters were also people I could not bring myself to care about.

[Ginny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't read the entire book-I made it about half way through and gave up. I had a hard time following all of the characters, the unclear time periods and the shifting between first person and third person. I rarely don't finish a book, but had to make an exception for his one.