我思念的長眠中的南國公主

by Guixing Zhang, 張貴興

我們心中都有一塊原始憂鬱的地帶，我們都在那裏留下原初的浪漫胎記。 《我思念的長眠中的南國公主》是張貴興新世紀的第一部小說。這部作品有個繞口的書名，但卻精準的道出張過去十年來創作的執念。南國的睡美人因何長臥不起，「我」的思念千迴百轉，怎樣才能讓佳人驚夢？夢土上的公主是張貴興心中馬華主體欲望的對象，也是欲望失落，敘述開始的契機。 ─王德威

　　「母親說當初不斷放火燒芭就是希望製造一塊淨土，就像當初跟著父親來到婆羅州以為來到人間樂園，沒想到淨土成了尋歡作樂的聲色地帶，而所謂人間樂園卻是愁苦種子遍地。母親說我們活在一個肉食動物遍佈的蠻荒世界……牠們強壯暴烈，我們瘦弱善良，以小鹿的戒懼純真行走在牠們的獠牙口下……我們死前終於知道我們可愛的鹿臉已經長出獅牙狼爪血統裡已經豬蛇猴鱷混雜。」

　　故事的地點發生在婆羅洲的一處雨林，一個華僑家族：謎樣早夭的妹妹、失去女兒專注於迷宮花園的母親、鬼才怪異的父親、從台灣移民定居雨林的父親的死黨、以及在其中參與並觀看的我。

　　在我們遺忘與忽略的雨林深處，原始蠻荒的暴力魅惑，生滿奇花異草，到處是飛禽走獸，原始的暴力將人們一層層地剝開，在不知覺中人們也走獸在夜夜笙歌荒誕奇歡的派對裡，一個關於欲望與身份的故事燃燒上演，而長眠中的南國是愈來愈長愈來愈深的想念。

Genres: China, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Monika Ciem · Rating 5 out of 5]

My South Seas Sleeping Beauty might well be one of the best novels I've read this year: carrying with it slight vibes of William Faulkner and his Quentin in its traumatised and (mildly) depressed student-narrator, weaving a complex and chronologically disjointed tale of pain, love, trauma, and a complex family to rival literature's most famous, Zhang Guixing's novel is absolutely one to remember. In three parts, we travel from a jungle-adjacent house of dysfunction and decadence into the Taipei of students and back again; we meet an array of fascinating characters and an even larger collection of images and symbols; and finally, reveal the story we barely knew we were reading. It is a difficult book to summarise. It is the story of Su Qi remembering parts of his childhood and adolescence, as well as a particular episode of his student life, telling through this the - highly disturbing, psychologically painful and dark, decadent and traumatising, yet also tender and loving - story of his family, of himself, of his first love(s), and finally of how all of the strange elements that made his childhood and life came to be.
I immensely enjoyed both the carnivalesque-meets-depressed atmosphere of the novel, and particularly the prose through which it is conveyed (at least in the translated version accessible to me). Most importantly, however, I feel that I am inadequately prepared to write a coherent review, so let me list a number of things that make this novel the masterpiece it is for me: it weaves themes of nature, colonisation and migration; it is a meditation on family and friendship and love; it draws a most unique atmosphere as impenetrable as the jungle itself; it blends Freudian images to a degree that should be a problem and yet adds a unique twist to this already unnerving narrative; it teems of feminist issues (reminding me of James Joyce's A Portrait of an Artist - but unlike Joyce, Zhang actually gives us fleshed-out and disambiguated women in the end); it throws Christian religious imagery into this crazy jungle of sex; it lends itself to thoughts and analyses as winding and complex as the mother's garden.

[Graham Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really well-written and attention-grabbing, and I think it'll stick out in my mind for a long time. The unreliable narration is exceptionally well done. But so much of the book is focused on misogyny in a way that starts to be meaningful but doesn't quite get fully realized... content-wise I'm not sure I would recommend reading it.

[Laur · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
there was a twist at the end, which was. an odd choice
probably there's a metaphor in the that, theee certainly was in the mc's parent's relationship, the garden, the father's habits, etc, but I'll leave that work to some one else
a valuable work but. modern isn't quite the right work for the works in this series in the present day

[A R · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, wasnt sure if it was fiction or nonfiction
There's an oedipus thing going on

[kayleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for uni and will be writing an essay about it, one of the more interesting books of the module but that’s not saying a lot, decent enough

[Beatrice Washburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

lowkey weird and why does he call his new girlfriend his old girlfriend’s name?

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fictional narrative reveals the fluidity of identity which is constantly being reformed by revisited memories. Childhood memories take on new significance when the hero realizes an important secret regarding his true love. Political tensions between communist China, Taiwanese, and other natives enrich the fecund garden plot of the characters sharing the same household and living different lives through memory and goals. For such a simple read, there is a lot going on in the text.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a lot of layers and symbols that make it interesting, but it was too psychologically disturbing for me to enjoy it. It's a well written book, but I found it disturbing in a way that made it hard to read. Other people may appreciate it more. All sorts of trigger warnings, mostly for animal cruelty ans sexual assault. There are so many different layers and twists to the story, so it's very rich, but I personally couldn't get over the disturbing aspects.

[Jmom88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beutifully written and enjoyable read. I read it slower than most books because I wanted to savor the words but also to contemplate on the symbols. There was a lot of them in this book.