UFO in Her Eyes

by Xiaolu Guo

Silver Hill Village, 2012. On the twentieth day of the seventh moon Kwok Yun is making her way across the rice fields on her Flying Pigeon bicycle. Her world is upturned when she sights a UFThing a a spinning plate in the sky a and helps the Westerner in distress whom she discovers in the shadow of the alien craft. Ita s not long before the village is crawling with men from the National Security and Intelligence Agency armed with pointed questions. And when the Westerner that Kwok Yun saved repays her kindness with a large dollar cheque she becomes a local celebrity, albeit under constant surveillance. As UFO Hotels spring up, and the local villagers go out of business, Xiaolu Guoa s startling parable of change imagines an uneasy future for rural China and its relations not only with Beijing but the wider world beyond.

Genres: Fiction, China, Contemporary, Asia, Novels, Science Fiction, Literature

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2009

About the author

Xiaolu Guo (Simplified Chinese: 郭小櫓 pinyin:guō xiǎo lǔ, born 1973) is a Chinese novelist and filmmaker. She utilizes various media, including film and writing, to tell stories of alienation, introspection and tragedy, and to explore China's past, present and future in an increasingly connected world.

Her novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers was nominated for the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. She was also the 2005 Pearl Award (UK) winner for Creative Excellence.

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ‘documents’ novel, or the ‘found documents’ novel, is the most popular way to escape the Barthesian author v. scriptor dilemma. To sever all claims to the book being formally authored by the dude whose name is on the cover, to turn the ‘author’ into ‘editor’ to remove all traces of their presence from the manuscript and relegate them to scissors-and-paste men (or women) so all their biographical cultural educational historical baggage has no chance to infect the reader’s brain with a single personal judgement. How many novels have you binned after reading ‘recent Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate’ or ‘frequent contributor to The New Yorker’ or ‘edits the independent poetry journal eLiXiRs?’ Anyway, unless the author’s name is wiped from the cover completely (in hardcover—his cover ‘accidentally’ self-blown in paperback), the struggle is futile. This novel is a ‘documents’ novel from an ex-pat Chinese Londoner and makes effective use of government documents and reports to tell the story of modernisation on peasant village Silver Hill and its inhabitants. The tone is poised somewhere between indignation and gentle mockery, working up to an understated, inevitable climax (whether the form assists the resonance of the suicide isn’t certain). But I like this woman. Powerful filmmaker too: She, A Chinese and How is Your Fish Today? being notables.

[✨ jami ✨]

At that moment, a full moon rose in the East, and I saw my reflection in the water. A breeze came and broke my image, and then slowly it formed again. I realised I was indeed leaving this place, and, for the first time in my life that I can remember, tears came to my eyes.

UFO In Her Eyes is an odd little satire piece, about Kwok Yun a girl living in the rural Chinese village Silver Hill, who's life is changed overnight when she sights a "UFO" flying over a rice field, and finds an American tourist suffering from a snakebite.

The sighting, along with $2000 dollars sent from the tourist back to China after he leaves the village, causes village-wide upheaval, as modernisation and expansionism comes in conflict with ethics and tradition.

The book is told entirely in manuscripts, interviews and files taken by Chinese police investigating the UFO sighting. It made this story very short and easy riding, but I think it was also an interesting way to explore the satire and expose the ironies of the text.

The juxtaposition between modernism and expansion, versus tradition and history and how this related to human suffering and the suffering of each character personally was interesting. I definitely did find this book enjoyable and understood the point it was trying to make in most instances, but I do think there was some things I just did not "get". Like, if she's not seeing a UFO - what did she see? Its not important but it bothers me.

I can see why some people don't like it, but I personally thought it was interesting and I'm motivated to do the readings on it which ... is not always the case with uni readings.

I read this book as part of #TheReadingQuest

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the slightly disappointing Twenty fragments of a Ravenous Youth, I decided to read another Xiaolu Guo novel. I am glad to say that this one was MUCH better.

This time round we are presented with pure satire : A peasant spots a ‘flying saucer’ and then finds an American near a tree suffering from a snakebite. She helps him and he offers her village 2000 dollars. Due to this upsurge in cash, the village moves into the modern age with all it’s problems.

UFO in her Eyes focuses on the simple village life and then all the complexities and destruction modernisation brings with it. The also lampoons Chine Politics and, I guess, to a certain extent the Chinese police force. The format of the book is akin to a police file, with transcripts, pictures and dossiers.

Beneath the satire, UFO in her Eyes is actually quite a funny read. I enjoyed the interviews and, although it exposes the hypocrisy of politicians and the flaws of a communist government, Guo managed to make me grin now and then.

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sidenote: this is not really about UFOs.

The more I learn about communism in China, the more I become ready to accept anything as possible in this life. I remember when I first heard about the one-child policy, back in 2012 (ironically, the same year the UFO is sighted in this novel), my reaction was something in the lines of: ‘You can’t have more than one child? What do you mean? Like in a certain frame of time? What – you can only have one child in your whole life? Is that even a legal law?!’ I was quite clueless back then.

There are many things happening in China that strike outsiders as ‘out of normal’. But no lettuce-walking or donate-your-sperm-get-a-free-iPhone campaign can match the level of unbelievable derived from the actions of the communist party throughout the years.

I’m not against communism as an ideal. Not to say that I’m in favour, but I can certainly appreciate its value. But I’ve felt for some time that Chinese communism seems to be an excuse not to have to value human life – a particularly dangerous thing to happen in a place where there are so many people. It seems easy to forget that every person’s suffering is worth just as much as another’s. So whenever the communist party messes up, the death count usually amounts to the population of your average European country. But China’s dimension allows those tragedies to become casualties “for the greater good”.

It’s dangerous for Westerns to voice their opinion on Chinese politics. Many a time I’ve had arguments with a Chinese friend of mine about the communist party. He generally ends those with “But our values are not the same as yours”. It’s true. It doesn’t mean that any suffering becomes more excusable, though. And not all Chinese think the same. I often find that another Chinese friend of mine agrees wholeheartedly with my views, as she often feels that when she’s in China she has to hide her true self. So maybe it’s even more dangerous the absence of a dialogue between cultures to figure out what’s legitimized and what can never be.

So finally to the book: this is a book aimed at foreigners. How can it not? Xiaolu Guo has lived in exile for a while now and she publishes her novels directly in the Anglophone market. Surprised or not, you should know that many of the most popular Chinese novels in the West have never even been available in the Chinese market (while the ones that are available there, often aren’t available in our markets), something which certainly deepens the divide between China and the rest of the world.

Xiaolu Guo is an interesting writer as in she doesn’t tell the reader at any point how to feel about the events in her novel. Even her voice as the author is silenced through the telling of the narrative through fabricated documents only. It certainly loses a human touch, as we become alienated by being forced to find out what happened through registers rather than a fleshy human being. At the same time, by retreating herself as the author, we are left with our own selves to analyse what we’re being given and to formulate our own conclusions. You’ll get as much from the text just as much as you have it within yourself (and I just wish I had more). That makes this quite Orwellian.

There is also an element of absurd in the juxtaposition of modern and old: the former is taken as the ultimate goal which can justify all means, sacrificing whatever and whoever comes in between. Sadly, this bit echoes much more than China’s reality.

Xiaolu Guo clearly doesn’t shy away from debate with us 老外. She knows the only way to progress is not ‘modernization’ in this twisted sense, but the communication between cultures to find out what is, after all, the better option we have to find the most happiness. So come join the discussion, let’s see what’s going on out there.

[Ernst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unterhaltsam, satirisch, spannend, kreativ, mochte ich gerne und müsste es bald mal wieder lesen

[Bart Van Overmeire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bitch Bastard!

[Vio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Such a surprise! My first Xiaolu Guo left quite an impression! Did I say W O W?

Powerful, ironic, funny, poignant (since when do I know this word?!), superbly written, highly recommended! I also loved the temporal setting, the construction/narrative, the visuals (the folders), everything.

Xiaolu Guo, see you so very soon!

PS I read it in less than a day. This means the book is written in a clear and easy style. No, it is not a SF book. :) Found some typos, haha (6, to be precise).

[Cee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, can we just stop and consider that beautifully wrong title? I know it's probably supposed to signify that it's an "UFO" but only the way she sees it. But wouldn't it be way more fun if it was meant to be like BAM UFO IN YOUR FACE. A girl can dream.

UFO in Her Eyes is more a collection of documents and interviews rather than a narrated novel. This means there are only about two or three small chapters with actual running text, and the others are interview transcripts. Despite this rather abrupt form, I think Ms Guo did an amazing job in creating the characters. Even though we only ever see them speak, and never act, I felt like I knew the characters of Silver Hill. There is a progressive line throughout the book, and I was quite impressed with how this collection of scraps of text manage to convey a story.

The book holds a political message, especially on how the way China modernises destroys some people's lives. I feel the message was rather ambivalent though, because the people of Silver Hill lived in extreme poverty before modernization. Neither the near medieval way of living, nor the industry ridden modern one is perfect. There are some references to important happenings in Chinese history, but I feel those could have been worked out more.

Although UFO in Her Eyes was a good book, and one that made me think about what's happening in China right now, I felt as if it was missing something to make it truly great. It interested me enough to check out other books by this author though.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me forever to get my hands on this, because it's not available in Canada yet.

UFO In Her Eyes is an interesting satirical piece about expansionist China and its rapid "modernization". The caricatures are often ridiculous, yet endearing and it's a VERY fast read. I finished in about 4 hours (and that was while doing other things).

While not my favourite novel by Guo, I feel that a large number of reviews on Goodreads missed the point. It is certainly not the first novel to address these issues, but it presents them in a fluid, easily accessible and satirical way. Complaints about the lack of description have more to do with the style (it's a series of transcripts of conversations between various officials and the townsfolk) than the author's writing ability, which is impeccable.

I have to agree that the translations of the swearing are occasionally annoying, but not so much so as to make you dislike the characters.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in finding out if there was any modern Chinese satire translated or written in English. Thanks to good old Google, I stumbled upon mention of a recent book of that sort. 'UFO in Her Eyes' by Xiaolu Guo, was the book, and after reading it I'm here to say that there is Chinese satire, and if the rest is anything like this thin little book, it's pretty darned good!

The premise of the book (which I understand is also now a movie) seemed just what I was looking for: A middle aged old maid named Kwok Yun, in the painful throws of 'that time of the month', is walking near her home in the rural Chinese countryside when she is shocked at the sight and sound of an enormous flying metal plate. She feints. When she wakes up she finds an unconscious and snake-bit foreigner lying in the grass near her. Since there is no doctor or policeman nearby, she drags the foreigner to the hovel she shares with her grandfather and tends to his injury herself. After inattentively taking a nap, she awakens to discover that the foreigner has disappeared. Of course she reports the incidents of the flying plate and the foreigner to her village chief, who reports to her higher up, who presumably report to higher higher ups, etc. The village chief explains to peasant Yun that she has apparently seen a UFO, after which the chief is compelled to explain what a UFO is, what suns and planets where UFO's come from are, and the mechanics of solar system. In no time investigators from the national and regional police come, a thank you letter and check from the foreigner comes, and then the falling dominoes of change and disaster come as the village chief and then the larger apparatus of government assist in spending and multiplying the foreigner's windfall and bringing the village into the modern world. As for the plot and consequences, it's pure Mark Twain.

The format of the book though brings to mind Kafka. The conceit of UFO in Her Eyes is that it is a folder containing files of the various investigations arising from the UFO sighting. You would think this would make for dry reading, but you would be wrong. The records are mostly verbatim transcripts of interviews between Chinese security personnel and the locals. As such they give full voice to the villagers and interrogators. Guo brilliantly brings both the uneducated villagers and the primative economic conditions of the village to life through the villager's words. The characters are archtypes of the post Mao village economy: the butcher, the tea farmer, the fish grower, the bicycle repairman, the Chief, all poor as the dry dirt around them. Their profanity is faithfully translated... "Bitch-bastard" trips off of every old man's lips, every other sentence. Vastly worse transliterations abound too, though I wouldn't dare mention them here for fear of being moderated, but which are screamingly funny as well and push you right towards the Chinese-English dictionary to see 'if that's how they really speak'. They do. As archtypes, the characters are more than a little out of Gogol.

The interrogations too, not to mention the interactions between interrogators, provide a hilarious and, ahem, somewhat unflattering picture of China's state security organs. The "documents" in the file are full of blacked-out redactions, as if they were sanitized prior to complying with some Chinese "Freedom of Information" request. Watergate or Wikileaks transcripts come to mind. The investigators are never named (only their identifying numbers are provided). Evidence of bureaucratic back stabbing and maneuvering is barely kept "between the lines." One particular investigator, Beijing Agent 1919, is especially malicious. While he fits just fine in this Kafkaesque environment, he wouldn't be out of place as one of the devil's own operatives in "the Screwtape Letters."

Despite the lack of standard narrative form, this book rewards close reading 'as literature.' Numbers seem significant, even if their meanings are not pointed out. The flying saucer is first seen on... 9/11. We all know that "everything changed after 9-11" and so it does in this novel - even if it's 9/11/12. The identifying numbers of the security officers seem to correspond to important years in modern China's history. Thanks to Wiki, Beijing Agent 1919's number summons associations with the May 4 student movement; Hunan Agent 1978 calls up the Democracy Wall movement; Hunan Agent 1989 corresponds to... wait, nothing happened in 1989, as you can see from Appendix 3, "Key Events in Recent Chinese History" which lists no events in 1989 (though Google searches of 1989 outside the Chinese firewall mention a rather horrific and important event occurring in Tienanmen Square). Hunan Finance Officer 8 corresponds to the lucky number bringing wealth. Finally, Model Citizen Yun - promoted to Model Citizen for seeing the UFO and helping the foreigner, and sent back to school so she can better fufill her role as model citizen - is mathematically and philosophically challenged when she is introduced to negative numbers. Her puzzlement at -1 seems very significant, though like Yun I can't quite figure out how. All these significant numbers remind one of Zamyatin's "We". The literary associations that Guo's book call to mind may or may not be in the mind of the beholder, but they certainly get around!

There is probably a lot more in this book that I didn't catch due to my western ears. But I think I got enough of the jokes to recommend this highly to anybody who wants a funny read that has the weight of Twain, Kafka, Gogol, C.S. Lewis, Wikileaks and Zamyatin. And like I mentioned, a movie has been made of this, written and directed by the writer herself. God knows what other movies it will remind me of. But if the book is any indication, I suspect they will be good.

[Vincent Eaton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping of a pleasant zip of a novel, as it's layout and design promised something oddly different. Alas it followed the well-worn path of numerous books and films of the small village getting excessive attention from the outside world due to something one person did, and then the corruption of the outside world and the bitterness of the inhabitants take over, with some political hustle along the way. And did not bring a single insight to an old story line. Suppose setting it in China brings a little new slant, but unfolding is so stereotypical as to wash that potential right down the polluted river of "process" this seems to be about.

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was given to me so I had no knowledge of the author. At first the book's design and layout made me think I was reading a pirated copy... then I started reading.

This book has made me completely rethink my understanding of modern Chinese literature. I have come to expect elegant, wistful and romantic prose with wry humour if included at all. This turned all of this on its head: bawdy, rough and dark, bleakly hilarious but full of insights that I would not expect a younger generation, urban-raised writer to have. Even the swearing was inspired.

I was also surprised that the author is female - so again, shame on me for my own stereotyping.

Can't wait to read more of hers

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ta książka bardzo mnie zaskoczyła - zarówno treścią, jak i formą. Na chińskiej prowincji, w zacofanej wiosce, niepiśmienna mieszkanka, Kwok Yun, zauważa dziwny obiekt nad polami ryżowymi sąsiada. Jak na przykładną obywatelkę Chin przystało, zgłasza swoje obserwacje naczelniczce wioski, która ze swojej strony zgłasza sprawę dalej, równocześnie sugerując Kwok Yun, że zaobserwowała UFO. Całe wydarzenie pociąga za sobą całą lawinę konsekwencji. Przede wszystkim dokładne śledztwo, prowadzone przez dwóch agentów z narodowego urzędu bezpieczeństwa, z których tylko jeden włada miejscowym dialektem.

Więcej tu: http://przeczytalamksiazke.blogspot.p...

[Shirley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed two of Guo's other books, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, and Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth: A Novel, even if the former I did not rate too highly, this one however just did not do it.

Presented as a case file for a UFO sighting and told through transcripts of interviews with the locals it deals with the subsequent change and modernisation of the village rather then UFOs. Although a there is a story running through these interviews it wasn't enough for me and I was left unsatisfied by the end.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kwok Yun sees a UFO and finds an American lying in a field. Government agents arrive in her village, Silver Hills, to conduct interviews. The novel unfolds through the villagers, who speak in various dialects, and who are funny, charming, obscene, nostalgic. The interviews are brief. I could imagine this translating to an e-reader: right click for more information about the Cultural Revolution, left click for a photo of Carp Li's pond. But surveillance is at the heart of this novel. By the end, nothing's private.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book. revolves around the an issue may be trivial will lead to the changes in the whole system. It all starts with the watching of UFO in the fields of Silver Hill a village in the remote area of China. The National Security and the Intelligence wings conduct interviews to find out the incident lasts for more that three years and with the result there comes the development aspect and how entire village once a remote one comes to the center of attraction and the result of the same. Very thought provoking book.

[Bertie · Rating 2 out of 5]

progress, progress at all costs

[David Flett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very poor. Barely rates as satire.

[Siao · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I have a soft spot for Guo, even though this book is not as good as her other works.

[Ste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non-Western UFO stories are rare, and ones in English that don't exoticise or primitivise (think stories about aliens building pyramids or superstitious locals misunderstanding eclipsing) foreign cultures are even rarer. UFO In Her Eyes however treats its characters with respect, in particular the "her" of the title: Kwok Yun, illiterate peasant in Silver Hill, one of China's poorer villages, and it seriously engages with modern Chinese society and politics.

The novel (or perhaps novella - it's 200 pages, but the interview formatting makes it a short read) takes the form of a series of reports into the UFO sighting and the subsequent development of the village, mostly told through interviews with the villagers. Most of the book is actually about how the village changes as the UFO attracts both government surveillance and some very modest investment, and it will probably disappoint anyone looking for a pure alien story. But as a short, sharp satire with vivid characters, it's an excellent book

[Freddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a light book - it has a potential to be heavier, given the subject it discusses and it simply isn't (not that I mind that it be heavier - I think that would make it even more interesting!). The dialogues are a bit weird and unnatural - I feel like the Chinese villagers in this talk as if they are literally talking in translated forms of their own language. Why does everyone use "Bitch Bastard" to curse? I don't know. The ending is a bit rushed - I would love to see a longer, fleshed resolution. But 4 stars if you take this book as something light and funny and you don't expect more from it.

[NT · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for the book.

It's been sitting on my shelf since before COVID and I couldn't finish it due to the lack of interest. Finally, I've tried again and read it pretty easily, albeit the weirdness.

The book speaks in ironies on the development of China in the period of Olympic 2008. It shows the sadness of the old people on the lifestyle lost and how hard it is to adjust into the new. The irony that is widespread all over the world

The writing is pretty decent, yet it's not on my usual cup of tea. It is an easy reading, with short chapters

[Beatrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a definite conceit and follows it through to its logical conclusion. I very much enjoy epistolary or found-document works, and I appreciated the diversity of "primary sources" that Xiaolu Guo provided for us- from the unsympathetic interview questions of the Beijing agent to the understated pathos of hand-drawn village maps.

At certain points, I did feel that it caused the plot to drag slightly, or marred our understanding of the characters of Silver Hill's inhabitants, but the moments in which the villagers themselves are allowed to speak more than make up for it. There are certain little speeches scattered throughout the narrative that positively well up with emotion and empathy. Almost always, they're heartbreaking, but they're the meat of the novel. They break through the unreliable bureaucratic doublespeak of the reports to give us a real flash of human connection, and keep the satire from becoming unsympathetic or cynical.

The pacing is slightly uneven (hampered slightly again by the format) and it is difficult to fully immerse yourself at first, but it's really quite a quick read and well worth-it.

[Charlotte Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea and the title of this book drew me in straight away and I have to say that the format of the novel made for a really quick and interesting read. The story is told through interviews conducted by police officers and they interview the villagers of Silver Hill throughout the events that take place. The pages themselves are printed to look like they have been taken from a binder and there are even images of additional information that has been attached with paper-clips to the pages. I really liked this design choice as it made it all feel a lot more realistic and authentic.

I have never read any Chinese fiction before and I have to say that this book did a really great job of building the setting and the people in a way that made it feel like China to me. This is a story of modernisation and the development of rural locations, people’s attitudes towards change and people’s ability to cope with modern technologies. It gave an interesting insight into what it must be like for someone living in a rural isolated area to suddenly be given an education, new buildings, new businesses and access to computers.

I think that the author, Xiaolu Guo, did an amazing job of showing the different opinions of the villagers in a non-biased way and although this book is fiction, I could imagine that this is how it would be in reality. As a reader, you can see that Xiaolu Guo has experienced both rural China and modern Western countries. The English used in this novel is quite simple but I think it gives a level of realism to the story and the characters as the characters are supposed to be speaking Chinese, so these files would in fact be a translation.

I think that this book brings up a lot of ideas about modernisation and the importance of community in a way that was not preaching for either side but showed a realistic view of what could happen. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading more by this author. The writing style was simple and fast-paced and the idea and format of the story is something that I have never experienced before so I am excited to see what else this author has to offer.

[Riccardo Mainetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

In un villaggio della campagna cinese dall'evocativo nome di "Collina d'Argento" una mattina di settembre una contadina avvista quello che viene considerato un UFO. Dopo l'avvistamento la donna sviene e al suo rinvenire trova un uomo steso a terra. Contravvenendo alle regole di sicurezza, aiutata da alcuni bambini, porta l'uomo a casa sua e lo medica. Con il passare del tempo l'uomo risulterà essere un americano che si trovava in Cina per una conferenza e che, durante una passeggiata per la campagna era stato morso da un serpente velenoso.
Questi in segno di ringraziamento verso la propria salvatrice invia un cospicuo assegno che, unito ai finanziamenti che il capo del villaggio riuscirà ad ottenere facendo leva sull'avvistamento dell'UFO, permetteranno al piccolo villaggio di evolvere e, facendo un secondo Grande balzo in avanti, di trasformarsi in una cittadina fornita di tutti i comfort e di tutte le attrezzature e attrattive tipiche delle grandi città.
Questo progresso avrà dei costi e sarà osteggiato da molti specie tra gli appartenenti alle vecchie generazioni i quali vedono in questo progresso solo un qualcosa che li impoverirà, privandoli, vuoi dei terreni, vuoi dei campi, vuoi della propria seppur piccola e misera attività.
Impostato in quattro parti denominate Dossier, il romanzo "Il villaggio senza lacrime" della scrittrice, sceneggiatrice e regista Xiaolu Guo, si svolge attraverso una serie di conversazioni-interrogatori che le autorità, sia locali che provinciali, svolgeranno allo scopo di appurare quanto di vero si nasconda nell'avvistamento e, in un caso, quello descritto nel Dossier 3, dietro alla morte di Carp Li uno dei commercianti del villaggio, trovato morto annegato.
Una storia che mostra ai lettori l'altra faccia del progresso. Una vicenda che avvince e che fa riflettere. Una lettura che mi sento di consigliare a quanti amino le storie ben raccontate.

[David Hebblethwaite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silver Hill was an unremarkable village in Hunan, long since neglected by the Chinese government; until a peasant woman named Kwok Yun saw a ‘flying metal plate’ in the sky. The National Security and Intelligence Agency soon sends men to investigate; the results of this are chronicled in the documents which comprise the text of UFO in Her Eyes, as are the changes through which Silver Hill went in subsequent years. Shortly after seeing the UFO, Yun found and helped an injured Westerner – which inspired the latter to make a hefty donation to the village.

To my mind, the title of UFO in Her Eyes doesn’t just refer to Yun’s metal plate. It also makes me think of the glint in the village chief’s eye as she contemplates what could be done with the money from the Westerner, and the possibilities for further developing Silver Hill on the back of the UFO sighting. Xiaolu Guo’s satire is sharp as she depicts the urbanisation of Silver Hill, a process which merrily robs several villagers of their livelihoods even as it supposedly paves the way for good fortune. And it’s only too clear that Silver Hill’s development is probably based on nothing more than a mirage.

[John Defrog: global citizen, local gadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satire from novelist/filmmaker Guo about a Chinese peasant named Kwok Yun whose life and small Chinese village of Silver Hill is changed forever after she sees a UFO in a rice field and rescues an American backpacker who was bitten by a poisonous snake. The novel is written in the form of documents and interviews with various villagers conducted by government agents investigating the UFO sighting. Readers expecting a story about actual aliens will be disappointed, since the story focuses more on how China’s modern “capitalism with socialist characteristics” conflicts with the lives of small-town peasants raised on Mao and the Cultural Revolution, as well as the ever-present constant of govt bureaucracy and surveillance. In that sense, it’s more or less on the mark. On the downside, the interview format is stretched thin across over a dozen characters, so it’s somewhat superficial. In fact, it reads more like a film treatment, though that makes sense given Guo’s other career as filmmaker (and she did in fact do a film version of the book after its publication). Anyway, as satire goes, it’s a decent read.

[Ligeia · Rating 4 out of 5]

l'UFO sono i contadini cinesi

una contadina avvista un oggetto di metallo in volo sui campi che stava attraversando in bicicletta, subito dopo sviene e quando si riprende uno straniero ferito è là vicino, lei non trova nulla di male nel portarlo a casa per medicare il morso del serpente che lo aveva attaccato, poi esce per procurarsi delle erbe e al suo ritorno lo straniero è sparito, riferisce l'avvistamento al capo villaggio, che a sua volta deve riferire al Partito e da qui una catena di eventi porterà allo stravolgimento del piccolo villaggio...

parabola della (non voluta/compresa dal popolo) modernizzazione della Cina questo delizioso raccontino mette in ridicolo tutte le procedure e i cavilli dell'ormai obsoleto Partito che governa ancora oggi un miliardo e trecento milioni di persone di cui la gran parte sotto la soglia di povertà e illetterati, un'entità mastodontica e dalle movenze lente e inarrestabili, questo il sottotesto, con una leggera insinuazione che la famosa modernizzazione del paese non solo non porta benefici ai cittadini, ma ne complica irreversibilmente la vita...

[tatterpunk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd little book.

Beautifully executed (the book itself is almost a visual project, the typeface/formatting changing and warping to communicate different kinds of documents and their additions) and evocative (each character IS a character, fully-fleshed, despite being communicated only through interview transcripts). A detailed snapshot of a particular time and phenomenon in modern China, true to life in a way that only reads as satire if you've never met these people, or seen such places.

And yet, I don't think I really enjoyed it? Perhaps it's just my allergy to realism; this was marketed as having more of a science fiction edge when really, that element composes perhaps .1% of the story and has no real impact on events. It's too bad, actually, because the impudence of that particular reveal was one of my favorite parts of the book.

Still, I remember having similar feelings when I read Guo's Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, and what was initially a mixed read left me with emotional and visual impressions that remained clear and intriguing for years after. So perhaps this book will be more of the same, given the time to process.

[Miki · Rating 3 out of 5]

La storia è raccontata tramite i rapporti dei funzionari che si occupano della strana vicenda segnalata in un piccolo villaggio della Cina (un avvistamento UFO e l'incontro con un misterioso straniero) e tramite le trascrizioni degli interrogatori fatti alla popolazione. Emergono in modo vivido una serie di personaggi ognuno con i propri problemi e le proprie fissazioni, e allo stesso tempo emerge la situazione generale della vita misera e arretrata del villaggio nonché, sullo sfondo, la situazione sociale e politica della Cina. I rapporti dei funzionari (a loro volta personaggi che traspaiono dai documenti) a distanza di un anno mostrano il cambiamento radicale del villaggio, il cui capo approfitta della notorietà data dalla strana vicenda per avviare uno sviluppo economico e industriale che cambia la vita dei vari personaggi e trasforma il villaggio in una cittadina turistica e industriale, cancellando le dinamiche tradizionali e ogni simbolo del passato con tutta la sua magia. Un romanzo che coinvolge, diverte e fa pensare.