Around the World in 80 Books discussion

What are you thinking as you read?

Well - I’ve finished this one! Huzzah! A few thoughts:

1. I felt like a lot of the time I didn’t really know quite what was going on, and I wondered how much that is because I’m reading in translation versus that Chang’s writing in the modernist style versus either her skill as a writer or my skill as a reader. Not sure - maybe a bit of all. It didn’t bother me too much, but it did stand out to me as I read. I just felt like I was along for the ride, and I have a much higher tolerance for not knowing what’s going on in a shorter story, anyway.

2. I felt that a major theme running throughout was the Westernization of China, about which Chang seems to have mixed feelings. This seemed especially true in Red Rose, White Rose, but it also comes up in the Golden Cangue and some of the other stories, too.

3. What is going on with the relationships between men and women in this book? All their interactions seem so bizarre to me - very little effective communication, and they always seem to be making quite rash decisions about relationships (I realize this is a thing humans sometimes do). Anyone have thoughts on this? I don’t know if this is a cultural thing, an era thing, or what. Everyone seems to be making compromises and generally deciding to be unhappy and/or to make other people unhappy.

4. Favorite story? Love in a Fallen City - hands down. I liked all the character development and was interested in the choices Liusu has to make to secure her own future along the way. The role of the fall of Hong Kong in the story also made me want to look into more of the history - haven’t done this yet, though.

Overall enjoyed this book! Although it was tricky to understand at parts, which is basically Sylvia's point 1. My take was that I simply didn't have the cultural context to understand many of the nuances, which made it tough especially since many stories focus on subtle social constraints (particularly faced by women) in Chinese society in the 30s and 40s. (Just one example of me lacking the context for this read: I didn't know what a cangue is and had to look it up.) I also wonder about the translation, in particular much of the dialogue seemed stiff to me and I feel like it would have read quite differently in the original version.

Some other thoughts:
* I loved Chang's beautiful imagery, especially when she mixed Western and traditional Chinese metaphors (ballet on one page, a lacquered tray as a balcony on another).
* Love in a Fallen City was also my favorite story. While it does touch on marriage/courting norms it is lighter on the complicated social dynamics (which are more heavily scrutinized in the other stories), and thus seemed more comprehensible to an outsider. Perhaps this is part of the reason it stood out to me. I'm also a bit ashamed how little I knew about this history.
* The focus on the politics and economics of marriage reminded me of Jane Austen.
* Related to this, most of the characters whose struggles Chang depicts have a certain level of privilege/social standing even if they have fallen. I suppose this reflects Chang's own background.

Also: Completely agree on the Westernization of China being a major theme. Not sure about Sylvia's point 3. At least when it comes to communication I attributed this to a combination of poor translation of dialogue (see above) and some cultural differences.

Finished this finally as well! I agree with all of the comments above. I thought Chang had such a unique and visual voice; I love old 1940's era Hollywood movies, and I kept seeing film noir flickering through my head with each essay. I really enjoyed the fact that this covered China in transition - so often when I read historical books they cover eras that are firmly identified, but overlook those periods in between when people are living through change. I think her use of metaphor is especially beautiful and her lyrical prose shone through even with the translation. I agree with comments about missing some of the subtext due to not knowing a lot about Chinese culture, and I can see how this would be much richer with more knowledge about those things. For #3 I agree - I think there's a lot of cultural difference packed in there; this is a nation where less than 50 years before foot binding was all the rage, so I imagine the emotional relationships between couples would be all over the place as well. And Claire, your point about Jane Austen is really interesting and is one I'll keep thinking about, because it didn't pop up to me immediately but I can totally understand how you saw it. It definitely adds another layer to my interpretation of this. All in all this is one of my favorite reads in our book club so far this year and is one of the first short story collections I've ever liked (literally ever), so great choice everyone!