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袦邪泄褋褌芯褉褗褌 薪邪 褎懈写械
"袠谐褉懈胁邪 懈 胁褗蟹褏懈褌懈褌械谢薪芯 屑褉邪褔薪邪... 袝写懈薪 褋褗胁褉械屑械薪械薪 袣褍薪写械褉邪"
肖懈谢懈锌 袦邪褉褋写褗薪
袣褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢褟褌 屑褍 屑褟褌邪 褋薪懈蟹褏芯写懈褌械谢械薪 锌芯谐谢械写.
鈥撔毿拘承把傂� 斜褟褏屑械 胁 锌褉芯胁懈薪褑懈褟褌邪, 褌懈 谐芯胁芯褉械褕械 蟹邪 "胁褗蟹胁懈褕械薪芯褌芯". 袛邪卸械 锌褉懈泻邪蟹胁邪褕械 蟹邪 芯薪蟹懈 褔芯胁械泻 袠褋褍褋. 携 褋械 胁懈卸 褋械谐邪! 袣邪泻胁芯 褋懈 锌褉邪胁懈谢 褑褟谢 写械薪? 效邪泻邪谢 褋懈 屑械 写邪 写芯泄写邪 懈 写邪 褋谢芯卸邪 屑械褋芯 薪邪 屑邪褋邪褌邪 褌懈. 小 锌邪褉懈褌械, 写械褌芯 褌懈 锌谢邪褖邪褌 蟹邪 褌胁芯懈褌械 写褗谢斜芯泻懈 屑懈褋谢懈, 薪械 屑芯卸械褕 写邪 褋懈 泻褍锌懈褕 泻芯泄 蟹薪邪械 泻邪泻胁邪 褏褉邪薪邪, 邪? 鈥� 袣褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢褟褌 褋谐褉邪斜褔胁邪 械写薪芯 褟泄褑械, 锌芯褋谢械 懈蟹斜褍褌胁邪 褔懈薪懈褟褌邪 泻褗屑 斜褍褌懈谢泻懈褌械 胁 褋褉械写邪褌邪 薪邪 屑邪褋邪褌邪. 袙蟹懈屑邪 褖懈锌泻邪 褋芯谢 芯褌 斜褍褉泻邪薪邪 写芯 褋械斜械 褋懈, 芯斜械谢胁邪 褟泄褑械褌芯. 鈥� 袩芯谢褍褔邪胁邪屑 褌褉懈 锌褗褌懈 泻芯谢泻芯褌芯 褌胁芯褟褌邪 屑械褋械褔薪邪 蟹邪锌谢邪褌邪 褋邪屑芯 蟹邪 械写薪芯 写邪褉褟胁邪薪械. 泻邪褌芯 锌芯屑懈褋谢懈褕 泻邪泻胁芯 胁谢邪谐邪褕 胁 褉邪斜芯褌邪褌邪 褋懈 懈 泻邪泻胁芯 锌芯谢褍褔邪胁邪褕, 屑邪泄 薪械 褋械 褋锌褉邪胁褟褕 屑薪芯谐芯 写芯斜褉械, 邪? 袠薪邪褔械 泻邪蟹邪薪芯, 邪蟹 泻邪褌芯 褋褗屑 锌褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢械薪 泻褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢, 锌褗泻 褌懈 褋懈 锌褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢械薪 锌懈褋邪褌械谢, 褌芯胁邪 薪械 蟹薪邪褔懈, 褔械 褋懈 褋 薪械褖芯 锌芯-写芯斜褗褉 芯褌 屑械薪.
袩懈褋邪褌械谢褟褌 褋械 胁褌褉械薪褔胁邪 褋 锌芯谐薪褍褋邪 胁 褍褋褌邪褌邪 薪邪 写芯薪芯褉邪, 胁 屑褗褉写邪褖懈褟 胁褗褌褉械 卸褗谢褌褗泻. 效械褋褌芯 锌褉懈写芯斜懈胁邪 褌芯蟹懈 薪械芯写芯斜褉懈褌械谢械薪 锌芯谐谢械写, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 褋褌芯屑邪褏褗褌 屑褍 械 锌褗谢械薪.
鈥撔愋盒� 胁褋懈褔泻懈 斜褟褏邪 泻邪褌芯 褌械斜 鈥� 泻邪蟹胁邪 褌芯泄, 鈥� 褌邪蟹懈 褋褌褉邪薪邪 褖械褕械 写邪 械 胁 褉邪蟹胁邪谢懈薪懈.
肖懈谢懈锌 袦邪褉褋写褗薪
袣褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢褟褌 屑褍 屑褟褌邪 褋薪懈蟹褏芯写懈褌械谢械薪 锌芯谐谢械写.
鈥撔毿拘承把傂� 斜褟褏屑械 胁 锌褉芯胁懈薪褑懈褟褌邪, 褌懈 谐芯胁芯褉械褕械 蟹邪 "胁褗蟹胁懈褕械薪芯褌芯". 袛邪卸械 锌褉懈泻邪蟹胁邪褕械 蟹邪 芯薪蟹懈 褔芯胁械泻 袠褋褍褋. 携 褋械 胁懈卸 褋械谐邪! 袣邪泻胁芯 褋懈 锌褉邪胁懈谢 褑褟谢 写械薪? 效邪泻邪谢 褋懈 屑械 写邪 写芯泄写邪 懈 写邪 褋谢芯卸邪 屑械褋芯 薪邪 屑邪褋邪褌邪 褌懈. 小 锌邪褉懈褌械, 写械褌芯 褌懈 锌谢邪褖邪褌 蟹邪 褌胁芯懈褌械 写褗谢斜芯泻懈 屑懈褋谢懈, 薪械 屑芯卸械褕 写邪 褋懈 泻褍锌懈褕 泻芯泄 蟹薪邪械 泻邪泻胁邪 褏褉邪薪邪, 邪? 鈥� 袣褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢褟褌 褋谐褉邪斜褔胁邪 械写薪芯 褟泄褑械, 锌芯褋谢械 懈蟹斜褍褌胁邪 褔懈薪懈褟褌邪 泻褗屑 斜褍褌懈谢泻懈褌械 胁 褋褉械写邪褌邪 薪邪 屑邪褋邪褌邪. 袙蟹懈屑邪 褖懈锌泻邪 褋芯谢 芯褌 斜褍褉泻邪薪邪 写芯 褋械斜械 褋懈, 芯斜械谢胁邪 褟泄褑械褌芯. 鈥� 袩芯谢褍褔邪胁邪屑 褌褉懈 锌褗褌懈 泻芯谢泻芯褌芯 褌胁芯褟褌邪 屑械褋械褔薪邪 蟹邪锌谢邪褌邪 褋邪屑芯 蟹邪 械写薪芯 写邪褉褟胁邪薪械. 泻邪褌芯 锌芯屑懈褋谢懈褕 泻邪泻胁芯 胁谢邪谐邪褕 胁 褉邪斜芯褌邪褌邪 褋懈 懈 泻邪泻胁芯 锌芯谢褍褔邪胁邪褕, 屑邪泄 薪械 褋械 褋锌褉邪胁褟褕 屑薪芯谐芯 写芯斜褉械, 邪? 袠薪邪褔械 泻邪蟹邪薪芯, 邪蟹 泻邪褌芯 褋褗屑 锌褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢械薪 泻褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢, 锌褗泻 褌懈 褋懈 锌褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢械薪 锌懈褋邪褌械谢, 褌芯胁邪 薪械 蟹薪邪褔懈, 褔械 褋懈 褋 薪械褖芯 锌芯-写芯斜褗褉 芯褌 屑械薪.
袩懈褋邪褌械谢褟褌 褋械 胁褌褉械薪褔胁邪 褋 锌芯谐薪褍褋邪 胁 褍褋褌邪褌邪 薪邪 写芯薪芯褉邪, 胁 屑褗褉写邪褖懈褟 胁褗褌褉械 卸褗谢褌褗泻. 效械褋褌芯 锌褉懈写芯斜懈胁邪 褌芯蟹懈 薪械芯写芯斜褉懈褌械谢械薪 锌芯谐谢械写, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 褋褌芯屑邪褏褗褌 屑褍 械 锌褗谢械薪.
鈥撔愋盒� 胁褋懈褔泻懈 斜褟褏邪 泻邪褌芯 褌械斜 鈥� 泻邪蟹胁邪 褌芯泄, 鈥� 褌邪蟹懈 褋褌褉邪薪邪 褖械褕械 写邪 械 胁 褉邪蟹胁邪谢懈薪懈.
216 pages, 屑邪谢褗泻 褎芯褉屑邪褌, 屑械泻懈 泻芯褉懈褑懈
First published January 1, 1990
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1568 people want to read
About the author
Ma Jian
43听books309听followersMa Jian was born in Qingdao,China on the 18th of August 1953. In 1986, Ma moved to Hong Kong after a clampdown by the Chinese government in which most of his works were banned.
He moved again in 1997 to Germany, but only stayed for two years; moving to England in 1999 where he now lives with his partner and translator Flora Drew.
Ma came to the attention of the English-speaking world with his story collection Stick Out Your Tongue Stories, translated into English in 2006.
His Beijing Coma tells the story of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 from the point of view of the fictional Dai Wei, a participant in the events left in a coma by the violent end of the protests. His most recent novel China Dream will be published in the US in May 2019.
He moved again in 1997 to Germany, but only stayed for two years; moving to England in 1999 where he now lives with his partner and translator Flora Drew.
Ma came to the attention of the English-speaking world with his story collection Stick Out Your Tongue Stories, translated into English in 2006.
His Beijing Coma tells the story of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 from the point of view of the fictional Dai Wei, a participant in the events left in a coma by the violent end of the protests. His most recent novel China Dream will be published in the US in May 2019.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
May 1, 2013
Ma Jian is a Chinese writer and a dissident. He was born in 1953, so he is part of the generation of Chinese who lived through Mao's Cultural Revolution as children and young adults, as well as seeing the implementation -- and the limitations -- of Deng Xiaoping's Open Door economic policy. Ma has not been a silent observer of the myriad ways in which the Chinese government has cracked down on freedom of expression in Chinese society; he has been a member of the dissident community of Chinese artists and writers for decades, both while living in China and Hong Kong, and later from exile in Europe. Ma has suffered for his outspokenness. His , published in 1987, was censured and his writings were banned by the Chinese government -- a ban that extended to his future publications.
Ma Jian
In addition to his earlier commitment to the dissident arts community in China, Ma participated in the 1989 democracy protests in Beijing, which culminated in the Tiananmen Massacre. In the devastating aftermath of this brutal crackdown, Ma remained in Beijing and wrote , an extremely dark satire fueled by Ma's anger and disillusionment with Chinese communist society and politics. The novel is framed by an ongoing conversation between a professional blood donor, who has made millions giving blood and providing others with the means to do so despite limitations of height, weight, or frequency of past donations, and a professional writer, who blends his observations of the world around him with his consideration of the characters that populate a novel he is writing, who often seem more real to him than the people he sees around him every day. That interspersing of reality and fantasy holds true throughout , which includes healthy strains of surrealism as we move from framing discussions and interjections from the blood donor and the writer, and stories which introduce us to different characters who are dysfunctionally trying to negotiate life in a society where compassion is difficult to find, where empty slogans guide people's lives, where progress is measured not in terms of happiness or fulfillment, but in terms of economic production, material signs of Westernization, and complete adherence to the latest government dictates.
The novel's stories combine dark flights of fantasy with brutal action. In one story, an entrepreneur buys a ceramics furnace and opens a crematorium along with his elderly mother, in which he provides a special twist -- mourners can pay for him to play specific musical selections while their loved ones are being cremated. In another, an actress decides on her final performance -- committed suicide on stage by being eaten by a tiger. Ma Jian writes with a white-hot anger that practically drips off the page.
This novel accomplished exactly what Ma wanted it to. The characters and stories haunt me. I can't shake them off. As an anguished cry against the inhumanity of life in Communist China, which Ma has devoted his life to fighting, is disturbing and difficult to read, but profoundly affecting, one of the strongest examples I have read of dark social satire.
Ma Jian
In addition to his earlier commitment to the dissident arts community in China, Ma participated in the 1989 democracy protests in Beijing, which culminated in the Tiananmen Massacre. In the devastating aftermath of this brutal crackdown, Ma remained in Beijing and wrote , an extremely dark satire fueled by Ma's anger and disillusionment with Chinese communist society and politics. The novel is framed by an ongoing conversation between a professional blood donor, who has made millions giving blood and providing others with the means to do so despite limitations of height, weight, or frequency of past donations, and a professional writer, who blends his observations of the world around him with his consideration of the characters that populate a novel he is writing, who often seem more real to him than the people he sees around him every day. That interspersing of reality and fantasy holds true throughout , which includes healthy strains of surrealism as we move from framing discussions and interjections from the blood donor and the writer, and stories which introduce us to different characters who are dysfunctionally trying to negotiate life in a society where compassion is difficult to find, where empty slogans guide people's lives, where progress is measured not in terms of happiness or fulfillment, but in terms of economic production, material signs of Westernization, and complete adherence to the latest government dictates.
The novel's stories combine dark flights of fantasy with brutal action. In one story, an entrepreneur buys a ceramics furnace and opens a crematorium along with his elderly mother, in which he provides a special twist -- mourners can pay for him to play specific musical selections while their loved ones are being cremated. In another, an actress decides on her final performance -- committed suicide on stage by being eaten by a tiger. Ma Jian writes with a white-hot anger that practically drips off the page.
This novel accomplished exactly what Ma wanted it to. The characters and stories haunt me. I can't shake them off. As an anguished cry against the inhumanity of life in Communist China, which Ma has devoted his life to fighting, is disturbing and difficult to read, but profoundly affecting, one of the strongest examples I have read of dark social satire.
November 1, 2023
袘邪褟 屑褉邪褔薪懈 懈 锌芯写褌懈褋泻邪褖懈 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹懈, 褋褌褉褍胁邪 褋懈 芯斜邪褔械 写邪 褋械 锌褉芯褔械褌邪褌.
孝褉芯褕邪褌 褉芯蟹芯胁懈 芯褔懈谢邪 褋 屑邪褉泻邪 袣袧袪 薪邪 锌芯褉邪蟹懈褟!
袣芯屑褍薪懈褋褌懈褌械 褋械 锌褉懈泻褉懈胁邪褌 褍屑械谢芯, 薪芯 薪邪 屑械薪 褋邪 屑懈 褟褋薪懈 褑褟谢芯褋褌薪芯, 泻邪泻褌芯 械 胁懈写懈屑芯 懈 谐薪褍褋薪芯褌芯 懈屑 锌邪褉邪蟹懈褌懈褉邪薪械, 胁褗褉褏褍 锌芯褉芯斜械薪懈褌械 芯褌 褌褟褏 薪邪褉芯写懈鈥�
孝褉芯褕邪褌 褉芯蟹芯胁懈 芯褔懈谢邪 褋 屑邪褉泻邪 袣袧袪 薪邪 锌芯褉邪蟹懈褟!
袣芯屑褍薪懈褋褌懈褌械 褋械 锌褉懈泻褉懈胁邪褌 褍屑械谢芯, 薪芯 薪邪 屑械薪 褋邪 屑懈 褟褋薪懈 褑褟谢芯褋褌薪芯, 泻邪泻褌芯 械 胁懈写懈屑芯 懈 谐薪褍褋薪芯褌芯 懈屑 锌邪褉邪蟹懈褌懈褉邪薪械, 胁褗褉褏褍 锌芯褉芯斜械薪懈褌械 芯褌 褌褟褏 薪邪褉芯写懈鈥�
August 5, 2016
The Noodle Maker deserves way better than its current 3.33 rating (will or will not grow over time?).
It consists of several loosely interconnected short stories, sometimes with a touch of surreal, often with a delicious dark humor, and mostly absurd.
A satire of the Chinese society influenced by the Open Door Policy (instituted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978), this collection has an interesting array of characters: the failed writer who dreams of his big novel, but instead writes political-oriented articles about everyday made-up heroes; the professional blood donor who has become a rich man by exploiting the benefits of his occupation; the jealous actress who wants to get revenge on her lover by committing a most peculiar suicide; the young woman whom nobody thinks is still a virgin because of her rather huge breasts; a talking dog and a man debating over the former's belief that dogs are superior to humans.
My favorite was the story of a middle-aged man who was still living with his mother, both taking care of their business - an independent crematorium. Man, was that a bizarre and twisted story! The son has a whole philosophy in choosing the right music for the dead, according to their status in life and the money their relatives pay.
There was also a mention of Nicolae Ceau葯escu, our late Romanian dictator, in a humorous context (I will attempt a translation below):
The year when Ceausescu was due to visit their town, the mayoralty decided to hide the ugliest buildings, on the main boulevards, behind pressed wood panels, painted as to resemble a line of fine-looking houses. Ceausescu was passing in a hurry anyway; what mattered was only his first impression.
What Wikipedia says about the author:
I strongly recommend this book if you want to get a cynical glimpse of China, if you enjoy dark humor and don't mind a heavy dose of absurd and surreal.
P.S.: A piece of music from the "father of Chinese rock", Cui Jian:
It consists of several loosely interconnected short stories, sometimes with a touch of surreal, often with a delicious dark humor, and mostly absurd.
A satire of the Chinese society influenced by the Open Door Policy (instituted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978), this collection has an interesting array of characters: the failed writer who dreams of his big novel, but instead writes political-oriented articles about everyday made-up heroes; the professional blood donor who has become a rich man by exploiting the benefits of his occupation; the jealous actress who wants to get revenge on her lover by committing a most peculiar suicide; the young woman whom nobody thinks is still a virgin because of her rather huge breasts; a talking dog and a man debating over the former's belief that dogs are superior to humans.
My favorite was the story of a middle-aged man who was still living with his mother, both taking care of their business - an independent crematorium. Man, was that a bizarre and twisted story! The son has a whole philosophy in choosing the right music for the dead, according to their status in life and the money their relatives pay.
There was also a mention of Nicolae Ceau葯escu, our late Romanian dictator, in a humorous context (I will attempt a translation below):
The year when Ceausescu was due to visit their town, the mayoralty decided to hide the ugliest buildings, on the main boulevards, behind pressed wood panels, painted as to resemble a line of fine-looking houses. Ceausescu was passing in a hurry anyway; what mattered was only his first impression.
What Wikipedia says about the author:
Ma Jian is a vocal critic of China's Communist regime. His works explore themes and subjects that are taboo in China. He has continually called for greater freedom of expression and the release of jailed writers and other political prisoners. As a result, his books have been banned in China for the last 25 years, and since the summer of 2011, he has been denied entry into the mainland.
I strongly recommend this book if you want to get a cynical glimpse of China, if you enjoy dark humor and don't mind a heavy dose of absurd and surreal.
P.S.: A piece of music from the "father of Chinese rock", Cui Jian:
February 6, 2016
Let it be known that I did not read this under the best circumstances: short works give me trouble, short stories even more so, and what with the last few days consisting of the overbearing competing with my current under the weather state, I in no way gave this introduction to a brand new author the attention it deserved. Ema and Kris do a far better job, and I am planning on coming back to Ma with . But enough excuses.
Despite all that, I know dark satire when I see it, and Ma's constant references to the Open Door Policy and its capitalistic rampage across Communist China clinched the urgency. The problems stem from my own experiences, deluged as they are in hating the lie of the patriarchal 'free market' without having but the slightest awareness of the social, cultural, and historical context Ma is coming from. It was only after finishing the book and subsequently rereading Kris' review that I realized the undercurrent of anger, a truth I couldn't see for all the gratuitous beating and raping and ultimate trivializing of the female form. I will read about the horrors of Communism and Capitalism and appreciate the truth of the stories any day, but not at the expense of myriad female caricatures sacrificed without ado.
As mentioned, the work is short, time was shorter, and I didn't have the tools to engage with the stories enough to distract me from one of my major caveats. However, I did very much enjoy the story of the mother and son and their choreographing crematorium, where bodies are burnt to the sound of their favorite music as calculated by their Party status and other officiated characteristics. And, of course, the noodle maker. I understand that metaphor all too well, and will be coming back for more.
Despite all that, I know dark satire when I see it, and Ma's constant references to the Open Door Policy and its capitalistic rampage across Communist China clinched the urgency. The problems stem from my own experiences, deluged as they are in hating the lie of the patriarchal 'free market' without having but the slightest awareness of the social, cultural, and historical context Ma is coming from. It was only after finishing the book and subsequently rereading Kris' review that I realized the undercurrent of anger, a truth I couldn't see for all the gratuitous beating and raping and ultimate trivializing of the female form. I will read about the horrors of Communism and Capitalism and appreciate the truth of the stories any day, but not at the expense of myriad female caricatures sacrificed without ado.
As mentioned, the work is short, time was shorter, and I didn't have the tools to engage with the stories enough to distract me from one of my major caveats. However, I did very much enjoy the story of the mother and son and their choreographing crematorium, where bodies are burnt to the sound of their favorite music as calculated by their Party status and other officiated characteristics. And, of course, the noodle maker. I understand that metaphor all too well, and will be coming back for more.
May 28, 2016
袣芯谐邪褌芯 薪褟屑邪屑械 褋懈谢懈 写邪 褋械 斜芯褉懈屑 褋 褌芯蟹懈 薪邪褋懈谢薪懈褔械褋泻懈 褋胁褟褌, 芯斜褉褗褖邪屑械 褋械 泻褗屑 褋械斜械 褋懈 懈 蟹邪锌芯褔胁邪屑械 褋邪屑懈 写邪 褋械 薪邪褉邪薪褟胁邪屑械.
袚褗褋褌芯, 薪邪褋懈褌械薪芯 锌芯胁械褋褌胁芯胁邪薪懈械, 谐械褉芯懈, 泻芯懈褌芯 芯褌胁褉邪褖邪胁邪褌 懈 锌褉懈胁谢懈褔邪褌 械写薪芯胁褉械屑械薪薪芯. 孝械卸泻邪 懈 斜芯谢械蟹薪械薪邪 泻薪懈谐邪, 泻芯褟褌芯 褉械卸械 泻邪褌芯 薪芯卸. 袩芯褋谢械 写褗谢谐芯 褋械 芯谐谢械卸写邪屑械 胁 锌褉芯褉械蟹懈褌械. 袣芯谐邪褌芯 褟 蟹邪锌芯褔薪邪褏, 褏谢邪写懈薪邪褌邪 薪邪 芯褔械褉褌邪薪懈褟褌邪 薪邪 胁褗蟹写褍褏邪 锌芯褔褌懈 屑械 斜械褕械 蟹邪斜谢褍写懈谢邪, 褔械 蟹懈屑邪褌邪 褋械 胁褉褗褖邪. 袛芯褔懈褌邪屑 褟 胁 械写薪芯 谢褍写芯 48-褔邪褋芯胁芯 写械薪芯薪芯褖懈械, 胁 泻芯械褌芯 写械薪褟褌 懈 薪芯褖褌邪 褉邪蟹屑懈胁邪褌 谐褉邪薪懈褑懈褌械 褋懈. 小械谐邪 芯褌胁褗薪 褋械 薪芯褋懈 屑懈褉懈蟹屑邪 薪邪 谢褟褌芯 鈥� 褌邪泻芯胁邪, 泻邪泻胁芯褌芯 谐芯 褍褋械褖邪屑 芯褌 屑邪谢泻邪, 褍褏邪械褖芯 薪邪 谐芯褉械褖芯 写褗褉胁芯, 薪邪 芯谐褗薪, 薪邪 锌械锌械谢. 袧懈褖芯 薪械 褋械 械 锌褉芯屑械薪懈谢芯 泻芯泄-蟹薪邪械 泻芯谢泻芯 鈥� 褋邪屑芯 械写懈薪 褋械蟹芯薪, 薪芯 写芯斜褉械 蟹薪邪械屑, 褔械 褉邪蟹褋褌芯褟薪懈械褌芯 薪懈泻芯谐邪 薪械 械 褋邪屑芯 械写懈薪 褋械蟹芯薪.
袣薪懈谐邪 蟹邪 褌芯褌邪谢懈褌邪褉薪芯 屑褉邪泻芯斜械褋懈械, 褌芯谢泻芯胁邪 写邪谢械褔薪芯 芯褌 屑械薪 鈥� 胁褗胁 胁褋懈褔泻懈 褋屑懈褋谢懈, 薪械泻芯屑锌械褌械薪褌薪邪 褋械 褔褍胁褋褌胁邪屑 写邪 谐芯胁芯褉褟 蟹邪 薪械谐芯, 鈥� 薪芯 褋褗褖械胁褉械屑械薪薪芯 邪写褋泻懈 胁邪卸薪邪 蟹邪 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 械 斜懈谢芯, 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 械 芯褌胁褗写 褕懈褉懈薪懈褌械 薪懈 (薪械 褋邪屑芯 谐械芯谐褉邪褎褋泻懈, 邪 锌芯薪褟褌懈泄薪懈 懈 锌褉.), 懈 薪邪泄-胁械褔械 薪邪 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 锌褉芯写褗谢卸邪胁邪 写邪 褋械 褋谢褍褔胁邪.
袛芯褉懈 褌褍泻, 写芯褉懈 褋械谐邪.
袚褗褋褌芯, 薪邪褋懈褌械薪芯 锌芯胁械褋褌胁芯胁邪薪懈械, 谐械褉芯懈, 泻芯懈褌芯 芯褌胁褉邪褖邪胁邪褌 懈 锌褉懈胁谢懈褔邪褌 械写薪芯胁褉械屑械薪薪芯. 孝械卸泻邪 懈 斜芯谢械蟹薪械薪邪 泻薪懈谐邪, 泻芯褟褌芯 褉械卸械 泻邪褌芯 薪芯卸. 袩芯褋谢械 写褗谢谐芯 褋械 芯谐谢械卸写邪屑械 胁 锌褉芯褉械蟹懈褌械. 袣芯谐邪褌芯 褟 蟹邪锌芯褔薪邪褏, 褏谢邪写懈薪邪褌邪 薪邪 芯褔械褉褌邪薪懈褟褌邪 薪邪 胁褗蟹写褍褏邪 锌芯褔褌懈 屑械 斜械褕械 蟹邪斜谢褍写懈谢邪, 褔械 蟹懈屑邪褌邪 褋械 胁褉褗褖邪. 袛芯褔懈褌邪屑 褟 胁 械写薪芯 谢褍写芯 48-褔邪褋芯胁芯 写械薪芯薪芯褖懈械, 胁 泻芯械褌芯 写械薪褟褌 懈 薪芯褖褌邪 褉邪蟹屑懈胁邪褌 谐褉邪薪懈褑懈褌械 褋懈. 小械谐邪 芯褌胁褗薪 褋械 薪芯褋懈 屑懈褉懈蟹屑邪 薪邪 谢褟褌芯 鈥� 褌邪泻芯胁邪, 泻邪泻胁芯褌芯 谐芯 褍褋械褖邪屑 芯褌 屑邪谢泻邪, 褍褏邪械褖芯 薪邪 谐芯褉械褖芯 写褗褉胁芯, 薪邪 芯谐褗薪, 薪邪 锌械锌械谢. 袧懈褖芯 薪械 褋械 械 锌褉芯屑械薪懈谢芯 泻芯泄-蟹薪邪械 泻芯谢泻芯 鈥� 褋邪屑芯 械写懈薪 褋械蟹芯薪, 薪芯 写芯斜褉械 蟹薪邪械屑, 褔械 褉邪蟹褋褌芯褟薪懈械褌芯 薪懈泻芯谐邪 薪械 械 褋邪屑芯 械写懈薪 褋械蟹芯薪.
袣薪懈谐邪 蟹邪 褌芯褌邪谢懈褌邪褉薪芯 屑褉邪泻芯斜械褋懈械, 褌芯谢泻芯胁邪 写邪谢械褔薪芯 芯褌 屑械薪 鈥� 胁褗胁 胁褋懈褔泻懈 褋屑懈褋谢懈, 薪械泻芯屑锌械褌械薪褌薪邪 褋械 褔褍胁褋褌胁邪屑 写邪 谐芯胁芯褉褟 蟹邪 薪械谐芯, 鈥� 薪芯 褋褗褖械胁褉械屑械薪薪芯 邪写褋泻懈 胁邪卸薪邪 蟹邪 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 械 斜懈谢芯, 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 械 芯褌胁褗写 褕懈褉懈薪懈褌械 薪懈 (薪械 褋邪屑芯 谐械芯谐褉邪褎褋泻懈, 邪 锌芯薪褟褌懈泄薪懈 懈 锌褉.), 懈 薪邪泄-胁械褔械 薪邪 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 锌褉芯写褗谢卸邪胁邪 写邪 褋械 褋谢褍褔胁邪.
袛芯褉懈 褌褍泻, 写芯褉懈 褋械谐邪.
December 1, 2014
袟邪 袣懈褌邪泄 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 薪邪锌懈褕邪褌 褏懈谢褟写懈 褋褌褉邪薪懈褑懈 褋褗褋 褋褌邪褌懈褋褌懈泻懈 懈 锌褉懈屑械褉懈, 薪芯 薪懈褌芯 械写薪邪 褋褌褉邪薪懈褑邪 薪褟屑邪 写邪 锌褉懈褌械卸邪胁邪 褋懈谢邪褌邪 薪邪 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹懈褌械 芯褌 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪, 芯褌 泻芯懈褌芯 屑芯卸械 写邪 锌芯谢褍褔懈褕 褌胁芯褉褔械褋泻邪 泻谢邪褍褋褌褉芯褎芯斜懈褟 懈 写邪 褉邪蟹斜械褉械褕 蟹邪褖芯 褌胁芯褉褑懈褌械 褋械 蟹邪写褍褕邪胁邪褌 胁 锌芯写芯斜薪懈 褌芯褌邪谢懈褌邪褉薪懈 褋懈褋褌械屑懈 (懈谢懈 泻邪泻褌芯 锌芯-褌芯褔薪芯 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 芯锌懈褕械: 邪胁褌芯褉懈褌邪褉械薪 褉械卸懈屑 褋 泻邪锌懈褌邪谢懈褋褌懈褔械褋泻邪 懈泻芯薪芯屑懈泻邪).
袙 械写懈薪 芯褌 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹懈褌械 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪 械 芯锌懈褋邪谢 褌邪蟹懈 褋懈褋褌械屑邪 泻邪褌芯 褟斜褗谢泻邪. 袩懈褋邪褌械谢褟褌-褔械褉胁械泄 褟写械 锌芯 懈薪械褉褑懈褟 芯褌 褌邪蟹懈 褟斜褗谢泻邪, 芯褋褌邪胁褟泄泻懈 褌褗屑薪芯-泻邪褎褟胁懈 褌褍薪械谢懈 芯褌 懈蟹锌褉邪卸薪械薪懈褟. 效械褉胁械泄褔械褌芯 薪械 褋屑械械 写邪 芯褌懈写械 写芯 褑械薪褌褗褉邪 薪邪 褟斜褗谢泻邪褌邪, 蟹邪褖芯褌芯 褋械 褋褌褉邪褏褍胁邪 写邪 薪械 锌芯锌邪写薪械 薪邪 胁芯卸写邪 袦邪芯 懈 笑械薪褌褉邪谢薪懈褟 泻芯屑懈褌械褌. 袨褌 胁褉械屑械 薪邪 胁褉械屑械 褋懈 锌芯写邪胁邪 谐谢邪胁邪褌邪 薪邪胁褗薪 懈 褋褌褉邪褏谢懈胁芯 褋械 胁褉褗褖邪 屑邪谢泻懈褟 褋胁褟褌 芯褌 锌芯褋褌械锌械薪薪芯 锌褉芯谐薪懈胁邪褖邪褌邪 褟斜褗谢泻邪.
袙 "袦邪泄褋褌芯褉褗褌 薪邪 褎懈写械" 褋械 蟹邪褋懈褔邪屑械 褋 写胁邪屑邪 谐谢邪胁薪懈 谐械褉芯懈 - 褋 "袩褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢薪懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢", 懈 褋 "袣褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢褟褌". 袩褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢薪懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢 蟹邪锌芯褔胁邪 写邪 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹胁邪 懈褋褌芯褉懈懈 蟹邪 锌芯蟹薪邪褌懈 褏芯褉邪, 泻芯懈褌芯 褋邪 芯褌 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褔械褋泻邪褌邪 泻谢邪褋邪 懈谢懈 褋邪 邪胁褌芯褉懈, 褌胁芯褉褑懈. 孝邪泻邪 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪 芯褎芯褉屑褟 写胁械 谐褉褍锌懈 芯褌 谐械褉芯懈. 袨褌 械写薪邪 褋褌褉邪薪邪 懈屑邪屑械 芯斜褉邪蟹懈 芯褌 邪褉褌懈褋褌懈褔薪懈褌械/懈薪褌械谢械泻褌褍邪谢薪懈 褋褉械写懈 - 邪泻锟斤拷褉懈褋邪, 褏褍写芯卸薪懈泻, 锌芯械褌械褋邪 懈 褋褗锌褉褍谐邪 泄 锌懈褋邪褌械谢, 褍谢懈褔械薪 锌懈褋邪褉. 袨褌 写褉褍谐邪褌邪 褋褌褉邪薪邪 褋邪 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褑懈褌械: 泻褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢, 锌褉械写锌褉懈械屑邪褔 褋 泻褉械屑邪褌芯褉懈褍屑 懈 薪械谐芯胁邪褌邪 屑邪泄泻邪-褋褗写褉褍卸薪懈泻, 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褔泻邪 胁 蟹邪胁芯写, 芯斜懈泻薪芯胁械薪懈 褏芯褉邪. 孝芯蟹懈 褋斜芯褉薪懈泻 芯斜褏胁邪褖邪 械写懈薪 懈薪褌械褉械褋械薪 锌械褉懈芯写 芯褌 懈褋褌芯褉懈褟褌邪 薪邪 袣懈褌邪泄. 袧邪褔邪谢芯褌芯 薪邪 "锌芯谢懈褌懈泻邪褌邪 薪邪 芯褌胁芯褉械薪懈 胁褉邪褌懈", 泻芯褟褌芯 锌芯蟹胁芯谢褟胁邪 薪邪 褏芯褉邪褌邪 胁械褔械 写邪 懈屑邪褌 屑邪谢泻邪 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪芯褋褌 懈 写邪 褉邪蟹胁懈胁邪褌 斜懈蟹薪械褋. 袣懈褌邪泄 褋械 芯褌胁邪褉褟 屑邪谢泻芯 泻褗屑 褋胁械褌邪, 薪邪胁谢懈蟹邪褌 屑芯写薪懈 褌械褔械薪懈褟 芯褌 袟邪锌邪写.
袩褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢薪懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢 锌芯谢褍褔邪胁邪 蟹邪写邪褔邪褌邪 写邪 薪邪锌懈褕械 锌褉芯锌邪谐邪薪写械薪 褉芯屑邪薪, 胁褗蟹褏胁邪谢褟胁邪褖 薪邪褉芯写薪懈褟 谐械褉芯泄 芯褌 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褔械褋泻邪褌邪 泻谢邪褋邪 袥械泄 肖褗薪. 孝邪泻邪 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褟褌 褋械 褔褍胁褋褌胁邪 蟹邪写褍褕械薪, 芯谐褉邪薪懈褔械薪, 锌褉懈褌懈褋薪邪褌 褋 芯谐褉芯屑薪邪 褌械卸械褋褌, 泻芯褟褌芯 薪械 屑褍 写邪胁邪 写褉褍谐芯 屑褟褋褌芯, 芯褋胁械薪 褌芯胁邪 薪邪 械胁褌懈薪 锌褉芯锌邪谐邪薪写邪褌芯褉. 孝芯胁邪 械 懈 芯褋薪芯胁薪邪褌邪 谢懈薪懈褟 薪邪 "袦邪泄褋褌芯褉褗褌 薪邪 褎懈写械". 孝芯蟹懈 褋芯褑懈邪谢械薪 蟹邪写褍褏 褋械 锌褉芯褟胁褟胁邪 懈 胁 邪泻褌褉懈褋邪褌邪, 泻芯褟褌芯 褉械褕邪胁邪 泻褉邪褋懈胁芯 写邪 褋械 褋邪屑芯褍斜懈械 薪邪 褋褑械薪邪褌邪. 袣邪泻 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 芯褔邪泻胁邪 械写薪邪 卸械薪邪 写邪 械 懈蟹懈褋泻邪薪邪 懈 械谢械谐邪薪褌薪邪, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 懈蟹褉邪褋褌胁邪 褔械褌械泄泻懈 "袗薪邪谢懈蟹 薪邪 写懈泻褌邪褌褍褉邪褌邪 薪邪 锌褉芯谢械褌邪褉懈邪褌邪" 懈 "袠蟹斜褉邪薪懈 褋褗褔懈薪械薪懈褟" 薪邪 袦邪芯 袛蟹械写褍薪? 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪 薪械 褉邪蟹谐谢械卸写邪 褋邪屑芯 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈褌械, 锌褉械褔褍锌械薪懈 锌褉械蟹 泻懈褌邪泄褋泻懈褌械 懈蟹泻褍褋褌胁械薪懈 谢械褖懈, 薪芯 谐懈 褉邪蟹褕懈褉褟胁邪 懈 胁 锌芯-谐谢芯斜邪谢械薪 屑邪褖邪斜. 袣邪泻褌芯 懈 胁 "袠蟹锌谢械蟹懈 褋懈 械蟹懈泻邪", 褌邪泻邪 懈 胁 褌芯胁邪 锌褉芯懈蟹胁械写械薪懈械 褋褉械褖邪屑械 械写懈薪 屑薪芯谐芯 褋械褉懈芯蟹械薪 胁褗锌褉芯褋 芯褌薪芯褋薪芯 屑褟褋褌芯褌芯 薪邪 卸械薪邪褌邪 懈 薪械泄薪懈褌械 锌褉邪胁邪. "袦褗卸械褌械 薪懈 锌褉懈薪褍卸写邪胁邪褌 写邪 薪芯褋懈屑 褌械蟹懈 褎谢懈薪褌懈褎谢褞褕泻懈", "...胁褋懈褔泻懈褌械 屑懈 胁泻褍褋芯胁械 懈 锌褉械写褋褌邪胁懈 褋邪 芯褎芯褉屑械薪懈 蟹邪褉邪写懈 屑褗卸械褌械."
袝写懈薪 芯褌 薪邪泄-褋懈谢薪懈褌械 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹懈 械 褌芯蟹懈 褋 斜邪褖邪褌邪, 泻芯泄褌芯 褋械 芯锌懈褌胁邪 写邪 懈蟹芯褋褌邪胁懈 褍屑褋褌胁械薪芯 懈蟹芯褋褌邪薪邪谢邪褌邪 褋懈 写褗褖械褉褟, 蟹邪 写邪 屑芯卸械 胁谢邪褋褌懈褌械 写邪 屑褍 褉邪蟹褉械褕邪褌 写邪 蟹邪褔械薪械 屑芯屑褔械. 袙褋械泻懈 褋邪屑 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋懈 薪邪锌褉邪胁懈 懈蟹胁芯写懈褌械. 袛褉褍谐 谢褞斜芯锌懈褌械薪 屑芯屑械薪褌 械 褋褗卸懈褌械谢褋褌胁芯褌芯 屑械卸写褍 谐芯胁芯褉械褖芯 褌褉懈泻褉邪泻芯 泻褍褔械 懈 褏褍写芯卸薪懈泻. 小褞褉褉械邪谢懈褋褌懈褔薪邪褌邪 薪芯褌泻邪 薪邪 褌芯蟹懈 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹 胁懈斜褉懈褉邪 懈 蟹邪褋褟谐邪 写胁械 锌谢邪褋褌邪 - 锌褗褉胁懈褟褌 械 芯褌薪芯褕械薪懈褟褌邪 薪邪 胁谢邪褋褌懈褌械 泻褗屑 泻褍褔械褌邪褌邪, 邪 胁褗胁 胁褌芯褉懈褟 械 锌芯褋褌邪胁械薪 胁褗锌褉芯褋邪, 写邪谢懈 锌褗泻 邪泻芯 泻褍褔械褌邪褌邪 胁蟹械屑邪褌 胁谢邪褋褌褌邪, 薪褟屑邪 写邪 褋械 芯褌薪邪褋褟褌 锌芯-写芯斜褉械 泻褗屑 褏芯褉邪褌邪.
袩芯褉械写械薪 褋懈谢械薪 褉芯屑邪薪 薪邪 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪, 邪 褋谢邪斜懈褌械 芯褑械薪泻懈 胁 goodreads 屑械 芯蟹邪写邪褔邪胁邪褌. 携胁薪芯 褏芯褉邪褌邪 褋邪 芯褔邪泻胁邪谢懈 褌胁褗褉写械 锌褉褟泻芯 懈 写懈褉械泻褌薪芯 写邪 褋械 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹胁邪. 袗 锌懈褋邪褌械谢懈褌械 胁褋械 锌邪泻 褋邪 胁懈写 邪褉褌懈褋褌懈.
袙 械写懈薪 芯褌 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹懈褌械 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪 械 芯锌懈褋邪谢 褌邪蟹懈 褋懈褋褌械屑邪 泻邪褌芯 褟斜褗谢泻邪. 袩懈褋邪褌械谢褟褌-褔械褉胁械泄 褟写械 锌芯 懈薪械褉褑懈褟 芯褌 褌邪蟹懈 褟斜褗谢泻邪, 芯褋褌邪胁褟泄泻懈 褌褗屑薪芯-泻邪褎褟胁懈 褌褍薪械谢懈 芯褌 懈蟹锌褉邪卸薪械薪懈褟. 效械褉胁械泄褔械褌芯 薪械 褋屑械械 写邪 芯褌懈写械 写芯 褑械薪褌褗褉邪 薪邪 褟斜褗谢泻邪褌邪, 蟹邪褖芯褌芯 褋械 褋褌褉邪褏褍胁邪 写邪 薪械 锌芯锌邪写薪械 薪邪 胁芯卸写邪 袦邪芯 懈 笑械薪褌褉邪谢薪懈褟 泻芯屑懈褌械褌. 袨褌 胁褉械屑械 薪邪 胁褉械屑械 褋懈 锌芯写邪胁邪 谐谢邪胁邪褌邪 薪邪胁褗薪 懈 褋褌褉邪褏谢懈胁芯 褋械 胁褉褗褖邪 屑邪谢泻懈褟 褋胁褟褌 芯褌 锌芯褋褌械锌械薪薪芯 锌褉芯谐薪懈胁邪褖邪褌邪 褟斜褗谢泻邪.
袙 "袦邪泄褋褌芯褉褗褌 薪邪 褎懈写械" 褋械 蟹邪褋懈褔邪屑械 褋 写胁邪屑邪 谐谢邪胁薪懈 谐械褉芯懈 - 褋 "袩褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢薪懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢", 懈 褋 "袣褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢褟褌". 袩褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢薪懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢 蟹邪锌芯褔胁邪 写邪 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹胁邪 懈褋褌芯褉懈懈 蟹邪 锌芯蟹薪邪褌懈 褏芯褉邪, 泻芯懈褌芯 褋邪 芯褌 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褔械褋泻邪褌邪 泻谢邪褋邪 懈谢懈 褋邪 邪胁褌芯褉懈, 褌胁芯褉褑懈. 孝邪泻邪 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪 芯褎芯褉屑褟 写胁械 谐褉褍锌懈 芯褌 谐械褉芯懈. 袨褌 械写薪邪 褋褌褉邪薪邪 懈屑邪屑械 芯斜褉邪蟹懈 芯褌 邪褉褌懈褋褌懈褔薪懈褌械/懈薪褌械谢械泻褌褍邪谢薪懈 褋褉械写懈 - 邪泻锟斤拷褉懈褋邪, 褏褍写芯卸薪懈泻, 锌芯械褌械褋邪 懈 褋褗锌褉褍谐邪 泄 锌懈褋邪褌械谢, 褍谢懈褔械薪 锌懈褋邪褉. 袨褌 写褉褍谐邪褌邪 褋褌褉邪薪邪 褋邪 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褑懈褌械: 泻褉褗胁芯写邪褉懈褌械谢, 锌褉械写锌褉懈械屑邪褔 褋 泻褉械屑邪褌芯褉懈褍屑 懈 薪械谐芯胁邪褌邪 屑邪泄泻邪-褋褗写褉褍卸薪懈泻, 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褔泻邪 胁 蟹邪胁芯写, 芯斜懈泻薪芯胁械薪懈 褏芯褉邪. 孝芯蟹懈 褋斜芯褉薪懈泻 芯斜褏胁邪褖邪 械写懈薪 懈薪褌械褉械褋械薪 锌械褉懈芯写 芯褌 懈褋褌芯褉懈褟褌邪 薪邪 袣懈褌邪泄. 袧邪褔邪谢芯褌芯 薪邪 "锌芯谢懈褌懈泻邪褌邪 薪邪 芯褌胁芯褉械薪懈 胁褉邪褌懈", 泻芯褟褌芯 锌芯蟹胁芯谢褟胁邪 薪邪 褏芯褉邪褌邪 胁械褔械 写邪 懈屑邪褌 屑邪谢泻邪 褋芯斜褋褌胁械薪芯褋褌 懈 写邪 褉邪蟹胁懈胁邪褌 斜懈蟹薪械褋. 袣懈褌邪泄 褋械 芯褌胁邪褉褟 屑邪谢泻芯 泻褗屑 褋胁械褌邪, 薪邪胁谢懈蟹邪褌 屑芯写薪懈 褌械褔械薪懈褟 芯褌 袟邪锌邪写.
袩褉芯褎械褋懈芯薪邪谢薪懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢 锌芯谢褍褔邪胁邪 蟹邪写邪褔邪褌邪 写邪 薪邪锌懈褕械 锌褉芯锌邪谐邪薪写械薪 褉芯屑邪薪, 胁褗蟹褏胁邪谢褟胁邪褖 薪邪褉芯写薪懈褟 谐械褉芯泄 芯褌 褉邪斜芯褌薪懈褔械褋泻邪褌邪 泻谢邪褋邪 袥械泄 肖褗薪. 孝邪泻邪 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褟褌 褋械 褔褍胁褋褌胁邪 蟹邪写褍褕械薪, 芯谐褉邪薪懈褔械薪, 锌褉懈褌懈褋薪邪褌 褋 芯谐褉芯屑薪邪 褌械卸械褋褌, 泻芯褟褌芯 薪械 屑褍 写邪胁邪 写褉褍谐芯 屑褟褋褌芯, 芯褋胁械薪 褌芯胁邪 薪邪 械胁褌懈薪 锌褉芯锌邪谐邪薪写邪褌芯褉. 孝芯胁邪 械 懈 芯褋薪芯胁薪邪褌邪 谢懈薪懈褟 薪邪 "袦邪泄褋褌芯褉褗褌 薪邪 褎懈写械". 孝芯蟹懈 褋芯褑懈邪谢械薪 蟹邪写褍褏 褋械 锌褉芯褟胁褟胁邪 懈 胁 邪泻褌褉懈褋邪褌邪, 泻芯褟褌芯 褉械褕邪胁邪 泻褉邪褋懈胁芯 写邪 褋械 褋邪屑芯褍斜懈械 薪邪 褋褑械薪邪褌邪. 袣邪泻 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 芯褔邪泻胁邪 械写薪邪 卸械薪邪 写邪 械 懈蟹懈褋泻邪薪邪 懈 械谢械谐邪薪褌薪邪, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 懈蟹褉邪褋褌胁邪 褔械褌械泄泻懈 "袗薪邪谢懈蟹 薪邪 写懈泻褌邪褌褍褉邪褌邪 薪邪 锌褉芯谢械褌邪褉懈邪褌邪" 懈 "袠蟹斜褉邪薪懈 褋褗褔懈薪械薪懈褟" 薪邪 袦邪芯 袛蟹械写褍薪? 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪 薪械 褉邪蟹谐谢械卸写邪 褋邪屑芯 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈褌械, 锌褉械褔褍锌械薪懈 锌褉械蟹 泻懈褌邪泄褋泻懈褌械 懈蟹泻褍褋褌胁械薪懈 谢械褖懈, 薪芯 谐懈 褉邪蟹褕懈褉褟胁邪 懈 胁 锌芯-谐谢芯斜邪谢械薪 屑邪褖邪斜. 袣邪泻褌芯 懈 胁 "袠蟹锌谢械蟹懈 褋懈 械蟹懈泻邪", 褌邪泻邪 懈 胁 褌芯胁邪 锌褉芯懈蟹胁械写械薪懈械 褋褉械褖邪屑械 械写懈薪 屑薪芯谐芯 褋械褉懈芯蟹械薪 胁褗锌褉芯褋 芯褌薪芯褋薪芯 屑褟褋褌芯褌芯 薪邪 卸械薪邪褌邪 懈 薪械泄薪懈褌械 锌褉邪胁邪. "袦褗卸械褌械 薪懈 锌褉懈薪褍卸写邪胁邪褌 写邪 薪芯褋懈屑 褌械蟹懈 褎谢懈薪褌懈褎谢褞褕泻懈", "...胁褋懈褔泻懈褌械 屑懈 胁泻褍褋芯胁械 懈 锌褉械写褋褌邪胁懈 褋邪 芯褎芯褉屑械薪懈 蟹邪褉邪写懈 屑褗卸械褌械."
袝写懈薪 芯褌 薪邪泄-褋懈谢薪懈褌械 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹懈 械 褌芯蟹懈 褋 斜邪褖邪褌邪, 泻芯泄褌芯 褋械 芯锌懈褌胁邪 写邪 懈蟹芯褋褌邪胁懈 褍屑褋褌胁械薪芯 懈蟹芯褋褌邪薪邪谢邪褌邪 褋懈 写褗褖械褉褟, 蟹邪 写邪 屑芯卸械 胁谢邪褋褌懈褌械 写邪 屑褍 褉邪蟹褉械褕邪褌 写邪 蟹邪褔械薪械 屑芯屑褔械. 袙褋械泻懈 褋邪屑 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋懈 薪邪锌褉邪胁懈 懈蟹胁芯写懈褌械. 袛褉褍谐 谢褞斜芯锌懈褌械薪 屑芯屑械薪褌 械 褋褗卸懈褌械谢褋褌胁芯褌芯 屑械卸写褍 谐芯胁芯褉械褖芯 褌褉懈泻褉邪泻芯 泻褍褔械 懈 褏褍写芯卸薪懈泻. 小褞褉褉械邪谢懈褋褌懈褔薪邪褌邪 薪芯褌泻邪 薪邪 褌芯蟹懈 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹 胁懈斜褉懈褉邪 懈 蟹邪褋褟谐邪 写胁械 锌谢邪褋褌邪 - 锌褗褉胁懈褟褌 械 芯褌薪芯褕械薪懈褟褌邪 薪邪 胁谢邪褋褌懈褌械 泻褗屑 泻褍褔械褌邪褌邪, 邪 胁褗胁 胁褌芯褉懈褟 械 锌芯褋褌邪胁械薪 胁褗锌褉芯褋邪, 写邪谢懈 锌褗泻 邪泻芯 泻褍褔械褌邪褌邪 胁蟹械屑邪褌 胁谢邪褋褌褌邪, 薪褟屑邪 写邪 褋械 芯褌薪邪褋褟褌 锌芯-写芯斜褉械 泻褗屑 褏芯褉邪褌邪.
袩芯褉械写械薪 褋懈谢械薪 褉芯屑邪薪 薪邪 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪, 邪 褋谢邪斜懈褌械 芯褑械薪泻懈 胁 goodreads 屑械 芯蟹邪写邪褔邪胁邪褌. 携胁薪芯 褏芯褉邪褌邪 褋邪 芯褔邪泻胁邪谢懈 褌胁褗褉写械 锌褉褟泻芯 懈 写懈褉械泻褌薪芯 写邪 褋械 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹胁邪. 袗 锌懈褋邪褌械谢懈褌械 胁褋械 锌邪泻 褋邪 胁懈写 邪褉褌懈褋褌懈.
September 26, 2020
On the blurb the author is compared to Kundera - I would add Borges to the inspirations Ma Jian may have enjoyed on the road to finishing The Noodle Maker, 麓cause there are so many stories which in the end finally finds their connection point.
Living inside the head of a professional writer there will be fragments of stories never to be told, little anecdotes hardly worth elaborating on and scenes you pass in daily life which ignites and fires up a string of thoughts.
"Maybe there is a story hidden here ..." and it turns out there is.
Living inside the head of a professional writer there will be fragments of stories never to be told, little anecdotes hardly worth elaborating on and scenes you pass in daily life which ignites and fires up a string of thoughts.
"Maybe there is a story hidden here ..." and it turns out there is.
November 8, 2019
鈥炐懶秆傂盒秆傂� 懈屑 锌褉芯写褗谢卸邪胁邪褏邪 懈 胁褗胁 胁械褔械褉懈薪泻懈褌械 蟹邪 锌芯谢懈褌懈褔械褋泻邪 锌褉芯褋胁械褌邪. 袣芯谐邪褌芯 胁褗蟹褉邪褋褌薪邪褌邪 斜懈斜谢懈芯褌械泻邪褉泻邪 懈蟹褔械褌械 褋胁芯褟 褉械褎械褉邪褌 蟹邪 屑械褋褌薪懈褟 谐械褉芯泄, 泻芯泄褌芯 褋械 褍写邪胁懈谢 褌褉邪谐懈褔薪芯 胁 芯锌懈褌邪 褋懈 写邪 褋锌邪褋懈 械写薪芯 写褗褉卸邪胁薪芯 锌褉邪褋械, 锌褉械胁芯写邪褔泻邪褌邪 懈 褋械泻褉械褌邪褉泻邪褌邪 薪械 褉械邪谐懈褉邪褏邪. 袠蟹芯斜褖芯 薪械 褋械 懈 锌芯褋褌邪褉邪褏邪 写邪 锌芯泻邪卸邪褌 薪褟泻邪泻胁邪 褋泻褉褗斜. 袩褉械写褋械写邪褌械谢泻邪褌邪 肖邪薪 芯褌斜械谢褟蟹邪 锌芯胁械写械薪懈械褌芯 懈屑 懈 褋懈 谐芯 蟹邪锌懈褋邪 胁 褌械褎褌械褉褔械褌芯.鈥�
June 18, 2013
"The Noodle Maker", for me, oscillates between two and three stars. The skill is undeniable--the occasionally lovely passage and, more importantly, full characters and a coherent, if shattering, vision. This is the post-Maoist, crony capitalism of the current People's Republic, and Ma Jian's dissection of it is withering. Two friends meet for dinner--a writer and a man who runs a blood-donation ring that supplies what the wealthy ill seek. Most of the novel is made up of stories that the writer wants to tell, rather than the orthodox patriotism that he is paid very little for. They are stories of a world poisoned by corruption and despair: a man who makes an excellent living catering to wishes for an impressive cremation, an actress who commits suicide as performance art, a talentless literary editor who exploits the women writers who seek publication (with the possible exception of his wife, with whom he is engaged in a Strindbergian dance of death), a man who makes his living writing letters of faithless love, a girl persecuted for her beauty, and an assassinated talking dog who makes greater sense than most if not all of the humans. I have read books written out of despair before, but never put one down with a sense that it is a work without hope. Yet any power that its refutation of hope fades when placed beside the outrage of Ai Weiwei that addresses corruption irrefutably--I am thinking of the wall of small backpacks that evokes the death of children during an earthquake because of the shoddy construction of their schools. In the end, perhaps Ma Jian's letter writer says it best: "My first piece of advice is: never believe anything a man tells you. Above all, never trust a writer--they trap you in a web of words from which there is no escape. They make their living making things up, they are professional liars." Very post-modern, with more than a teaspoon of truth, but in the end paralyzing.
June 1, 2016
袣芯褕屑邪褉薪懈褟褌 褋褞褉械邪谢懈蟹褗屑 薪邪 袦邪 袛蟹懈械薪 械 胁械谢懈泻.
袚械褉芯懈褌械 屑褍 褋邪 懈蟹褌褗泻邪薪懈 芯褌 薪械褋泻芯薪褔邪械屑懈 蟹邪胁懈褋懈屑芯褋褌懈, 泻芯懈褌芯 谐懈 锌褉邪胁褟褌 薪械褋锌芯褋芯斜薪懈 写邪 褋械 褋邪屑芯芯锌褉械写械谢褟褌 胁 芯褌褋褗褋褌胁懈械褌芯 薪邪 写褉褍谐懈褟. 孝械蟹懈 褋写胁芯械薪懈 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸懈 - 薪褟泻芯懈 褍褋褌芯泄褔懈胁懈, 写褉褍谐懈 谢邪斜懈谢薪懈 懈 谢械褌谢懈胁懈 - 褔械褋褌芯 锌褉芯褟胁褟胁邪褌 (邪胁褌芯)邪谐褉械褋懈褟, 泻芯械褌芯 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋屑褍褌懈 锌芯-褔褍胁褋褌胁懈褌械谢薪懈褟 褔懈褌邪褌械谢. 袣褉邪褟褌 斜械褕械 胁械谢懈泻芯谢械锌械薪 懈 褋邪屑芯 蟹邪褉邪写懈 薪械谐芯 "袦邪泄褋褌芯褉褗褌 薪邪 褎懈写械" 蟹邪褋谢褍卸邪胁邪 写邪谢械褔 锌芯-胁懈褋芯泻 褉械泄褌懈薪谐 芯褌 写邪写械薪芯褌芯 屑褍 写芯 屑芯屑械薪褌邪 (锌褗褉胁懈 邪斜蟹邪褑 薪邪 184褋褌褉. - 褍邪褍!).
袣薪懈谐邪褌邪 械 褌械卸泻邪, 写芯褉懈 胁褍谢谐邪褉薪邪, 薪芯 屑邪泄褋褌芯褉褋泻懈 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪邪.
袩褉械锌芯褉褗褔胁邪屑 褋褗褋 蟹邪斜械谢械卸泻邪褌邪, 褔械 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋屑褍褌懈 褋褗薪褟.
袚械褉芯懈褌械 屑褍 褋邪 懈蟹褌褗泻邪薪懈 芯褌 薪械褋泻芯薪褔邪械屑懈 蟹邪胁懈褋懈屑芯褋褌懈, 泻芯懈褌芯 谐懈 锌褉邪胁褟褌 薪械褋锌芯褋芯斜薪懈 写邪 褋械 褋邪屑芯芯锌褉械写械谢褟褌 胁 芯褌褋褗褋褌胁懈械褌芯 薪邪 写褉褍谐懈褟. 孝械蟹懈 褋写胁芯械薪懈 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸懈 - 薪褟泻芯懈 褍褋褌芯泄褔懈胁懈, 写褉褍谐懈 谢邪斜懈谢薪懈 懈 谢械褌谢懈胁懈 - 褔械褋褌芯 锌褉芯褟胁褟胁邪褌 (邪胁褌芯)邪谐褉械褋懈褟, 泻芯械褌芯 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋屑褍褌懈 锌芯-褔褍胁褋褌胁懈褌械谢薪懈褟 褔懈褌邪褌械谢. 袣褉邪褟褌 斜械褕械 胁械谢懈泻芯谢械锌械薪 懈 褋邪屑芯 蟹邪褉邪写懈 薪械谐芯 "袦邪泄褋褌芯褉褗褌 薪邪 褎懈写械" 蟹邪褋谢褍卸邪胁邪 写邪谢械褔 锌芯-胁懈褋芯泻 褉械泄褌懈薪谐 芯褌 写邪写械薪芯褌芯 屑褍 写芯 屑芯屑械薪褌邪 (锌褗褉胁懈 邪斜蟹邪褑 薪邪 184褋褌褉. - 褍邪褍!).
袣薪懈谐邪褌邪 械 褌械卸泻邪, 写芯褉懈 胁褍谢谐邪褉薪邪, 薪芯 屑邪泄褋褌芯褉褋泻懈 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪邪.
袩褉械锌芯褉褗褔胁邪屑 褋褗褋 蟹邪斜械谢械卸泻邪褌邪, 褔械 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋屑褍褌懈 褋褗薪褟.
August 22, 2021
Pe fondul unui context politic fals utopic, gasim amestecate, ca intr-o supa, bucati mari de tristete, ipocrizie, ratare, pierdere, egoism, obsesie si nebunie, toate plutind intr-o zeama de neputinta si limitare, cu un strop de suprarealism. Greu de ingerat, dar satioasa, cu siguranta dificil de uitat.
Desi fiecare povestire este unica, se pastreaza ideea de dualitate, relevata chiar din titluri - toate personajele sunt si victime si abuzatori, condamnati si calai, judecatori si acuzati.
Preferatele mele au fost "Supravietuitor sau spectator" si "Delectat sau teapan".
Desi fiecare povestire este unica, se pastreaza ideea de dualitate, relevata chiar din titluri - toate personajele sunt si victime si abuzatori, condamnati si calai, judecatori si acuzati.
Preferatele mele au fost "Supravietuitor sau spectator" si "Delectat sau teapan".
September 18, 2016
A courageous voice into the Chinese cultural revolution, painted with sad and miserable characters that don't know they are that way because of the brainwashing of the Party since they were born. The characters are sometimes named but more importantly defined by their occupation, their abuse, the sexist way they act towards others, and their relationship with the Party. Very powerful story telling.
October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
"The Noodle Maker" by Ma Jian
The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian (1991, trans. from Chinese 2004 by Flora Drew) is the 3rd work I have read for Jeannie's Chinese Challenge. The Challenges runs from Sept 1, 2009 to Sept 1, 2010. I have posted prior to this on The Uninvited and Miss Chopsticks.
The Noodle Maker is set China, in the 1980s. It begins with two old friendly enemies having dinner together as they often do. One is a writer of articles for the government about heroic workers giving their lives to save pigs on state farms. The other is a professional blood donor who has found a way to become wealthy and have a big social standing by donating his blood. (How this can happen is just part of the wonderful twisted humor of this book.) The writer dreams of one day giving up his party propaganda work and writing the great novel he has been working on in his mind for years. The blood donor tells him he is a delusional fool and should just try to write more and better stories about heroic workers who would rather work themselves to death than miss their factory production quotas. After the opening chapter in which the two lead characters have a meal and solve the problems of China, the book develops into a set of very loosely related tales (each could stand on its own a short story) that are ideas for the book the writer hopes to write one day. The blood donor feels free to but in at times telling the writer how stupid his stories are.
There are eight stories. The first one sort of explains how the blood donor got rich during the period of the open door policy. The second one is an insane story about a mother and her 35 year old son who run a for profit crematorium where much care is devoted to considering what songs to play while your love one is burned. The son tells us all about dead bodies in China, what days certain types of people die on etc. He is always happy to see a party official come in as it is time for some well deserved revenge on the oppressor. He has observations on all the people brought in, sort of summing up their lives in a few words, grave yard humor at it best or worst. (If you are a young attractive female I would not go here for cremation).
One of the stories is about a once beautiful actress (women are very much valued based on the appeal of their bodies in the world of The Noodle Maker ) who decides to kill herself by having a tiger eat her on stage. The owner of the venue sees nothing odd about this and is maybe interested in allowing her to do it but then agrees when she offers to have sex with him, if he feels like it. There is nobody with a healthy self image in this world.
One chapter "Let the Mirror Be the Judge" is a viciously nasty look at the reaction of the women in a small all female office to a new twenty year old coworker with what seem to be ideal breasts. The character of women is somehow reflected in the size and shape of their breasts in common folk views. Large round breast signify a virtuous wife and a good mother. Medium size means the woman is suitable as a mistress.
A woman with small breasts is normally the most intelligent sort. The other women hate the new employee with perfect breasts as soon as they see her. When she leaves the office they speculate about her breasts. The office manager, a totally loveless 51 year old, says her breasts are large because she has allowed many men to fondle them. (This is presented as assumed to be true by all common sense.) Some of the women insist she must make use of a breast pump, another speculates that she had implants. All of them assume the woman, who has never had any sort of romantic encounter in her life, is very promiscuous and freely tell everyone who knows her this. One of the women pretends to be her friend then asks her to let her see her breasts. The woman is driven to despair by this and begins to take sleeping pills. One take she decides to prove to everyone that her breasts are real by running naked through the streets. Her and her family end up discgraced and they move to the country side. She ends up married years later to a farm work, still never having had the first romantic episode in her life. The farmer finds about her old reputation and assumes he has been tricked into marrying a woman with a very bad past and beats her for the rest of her life. This is presented as if it were a simple narration of normal events and attitudes.
No one in this book is spared. Nobody comes off looking good. Men are sexual predators and women are all one step above prostitutes. This is not presented as if it were a bad thing, it simply life in China. Every body is envious of anything someone else has and takes joy in the misfortunes of others. If someone out ranks you, suck up to them until they are out then suck up to whoever takes their place. If someone is below you, exploit them as much as you can. Personal relationships are power struggles not partnerships. Life is a macabre joke so grab all the pleasure you can.
One of the funniest chapters is a debate between a dog and a man who mouths the party line on everything because he is scared to do otherwise. No one is seen as actually believing in the party doctrines but everyone pretends they do.
The Noodle Maker is a very funny book. It is a bit nasty twisted kind of laughter. I thought to myself, these things should not be treated as jokes then I wanted to get onto the next joke.
If you can imagine George Orwell and Nikolai Gogol collaborating on a Mad Magazine article illustrated by R C Crumb and you sort of can see the flavor of this hilarious evil book. Tyranny does not stand up well against laughter.
I endorse this book for those with a bit of a twisted sense of humor but will advise parts of it shows misogistic actions and thoughts. There is sexual violence. In fact the only admirable character in the book is a talking dog. Ma Jian's writings are banned in China. He now lives in England.
"The Noodle Maker" by Ma Jian
The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian (1991, trans. from Chinese 2004 by Flora Drew) is the 3rd work I have read for Jeannie's Chinese Challenge. The Challenges runs from Sept 1, 2009 to Sept 1, 2010. I have posted prior to this on The Uninvited and Miss Chopsticks.
The Noodle Maker is set China, in the 1980s. It begins with two old friendly enemies having dinner together as they often do. One is a writer of articles for the government about heroic workers giving their lives to save pigs on state farms. The other is a professional blood donor who has found a way to become wealthy and have a big social standing by donating his blood. (How this can happen is just part of the wonderful twisted humor of this book.) The writer dreams of one day giving up his party propaganda work and writing the great novel he has been working on in his mind for years. The blood donor tells him he is a delusional fool and should just try to write more and better stories about heroic workers who would rather work themselves to death than miss their factory production quotas. After the opening chapter in which the two lead characters have a meal and solve the problems of China, the book develops into a set of very loosely related tales (each could stand on its own a short story) that are ideas for the book the writer hopes to write one day. The blood donor feels free to but in at times telling the writer how stupid his stories are.
There are eight stories. The first one sort of explains how the blood donor got rich during the period of the open door policy. The second one is an insane story about a mother and her 35 year old son who run a for profit crematorium where much care is devoted to considering what songs to play while your love one is burned. The son tells us all about dead bodies in China, what days certain types of people die on etc. He is always happy to see a party official come in as it is time for some well deserved revenge on the oppressor. He has observations on all the people brought in, sort of summing up their lives in a few words, grave yard humor at it best or worst. (If you are a young attractive female I would not go here for cremation).
One of the stories is about a once beautiful actress (women are very much valued based on the appeal of their bodies in the world of The Noodle Maker ) who decides to kill herself by having a tiger eat her on stage. The owner of the venue sees nothing odd about this and is maybe interested in allowing her to do it but then agrees when she offers to have sex with him, if he feels like it. There is nobody with a healthy self image in this world.
One chapter "Let the Mirror Be the Judge" is a viciously nasty look at the reaction of the women in a small all female office to a new twenty year old coworker with what seem to be ideal breasts. The character of women is somehow reflected in the size and shape of their breasts in common folk views. Large round breast signify a virtuous wife and a good mother. Medium size means the woman is suitable as a mistress.
A woman with small breasts is normally the most intelligent sort. The other women hate the new employee with perfect breasts as soon as they see her. When she leaves the office they speculate about her breasts. The office manager, a totally loveless 51 year old, says her breasts are large because she has allowed many men to fondle them. (This is presented as assumed to be true by all common sense.) Some of the women insist she must make use of a breast pump, another speculates that she had implants. All of them assume the woman, who has never had any sort of romantic encounter in her life, is very promiscuous and freely tell everyone who knows her this. One of the women pretends to be her friend then asks her to let her see her breasts. The woman is driven to despair by this and begins to take sleeping pills. One take she decides to prove to everyone that her breasts are real by running naked through the streets. Her and her family end up discgraced and they move to the country side. She ends up married years later to a farm work, still never having had the first romantic episode in her life. The farmer finds about her old reputation and assumes he has been tricked into marrying a woman with a very bad past and beats her for the rest of her life. This is presented as if it were a simple narration of normal events and attitudes.
No one in this book is spared. Nobody comes off looking good. Men are sexual predators and women are all one step above prostitutes. This is not presented as if it were a bad thing, it simply life in China. Every body is envious of anything someone else has and takes joy in the misfortunes of others. If someone out ranks you, suck up to them until they are out then suck up to whoever takes their place. If someone is below you, exploit them as much as you can. Personal relationships are power struggles not partnerships. Life is a macabre joke so grab all the pleasure you can.
One of the funniest chapters is a debate between a dog and a man who mouths the party line on everything because he is scared to do otherwise. No one is seen as actually believing in the party doctrines but everyone pretends they do.
The Noodle Maker is a very funny book. It is a bit nasty twisted kind of laughter. I thought to myself, these things should not be treated as jokes then I wanted to get onto the next joke.
If you can imagine George Orwell and Nikolai Gogol collaborating on a Mad Magazine article illustrated by R C Crumb and you sort of can see the flavor of this hilarious evil book. Tyranny does not stand up well against laughter.
I endorse this book for those with a bit of a twisted sense of humor but will advise parts of it shows misogistic actions and thoughts. There is sexual violence. In fact the only admirable character in the book is a talking dog. Ma Jian's writings are banned in China. He now lives in England.
February 13, 2024
2.25 stars
DNF at 80-something % bc I had to return it to the library plus I lost interest, but there were some stories I liked.
DNF at 80-something % bc I had to return it to the library plus I lost interest, but there were some stories I liked.
April 23, 2013
The Noodle Maker (2004) is set during the early 90s, in a China supposedly transformed by Deng's reform politics; everything is for sale now, you can go to McDonald's, you can start your own business feeding, clothing or burying your fellow comrades, women are learning to wear western makeup and men to expect them to. Of course, deep down, not much has changed; communism falling in Albania and Romania and the Tiananmen square massacre pretty much go unreported in favour of renewed efforts by the Party to find new ways of maintaining control. As long as you can control what people read and watch, you control what they want to spend their newfound wealth on, and so you can sit back and let capitalism serve the greater goal.
The novel finds two friends sharing dinner: a writer, who never does anything but write what he's told, and a blood donor. That's his profession: he sells his own blood, is paid in cash, and spends his money on western goods and eastern women. The writer is complaining that he's been commissioned to write yet another book praising a revolutionary hero. You're the one who chose to be a writer, says his friend; what the hell did you expect? You can't change anything. And so the writer starts telling him what he wants to write but isn't allowed to. Cue a series of interwoven short stories about men and women he knows (or knows of, or just made up) and their attempts to find their way out of a situation where three seemingly opposing systems - old traditions, Maoist dogma and cutthroat capitalism - work beautifully together to keep everything as it was.
OK, it's not perfect; Ma is a little too fond of epithets (necessary in-story, of course, since the narrator can't name any names), and I'm honestly not sure if some of the views on women presented are supposed to be the characters', the narrator's, or Ma's. But what impresses me about The Noodle Maker isn't just how vivid the stories are, ranging from gallows humour (the way one character can't see a naked woman without praising Mao, for instance) to soul-hurtingly depressing, but also the way the narratives keep getting sneakily hijacked - by the narrator, by the propaganda that inevitably pops up everywhere whether it says "Praise the Party" or "Buy Coke". He does his best to subvert it, but he can never escape it; he can take control of the story as long as he doesn't say it out loud, but language itself has been politicized to the degree that writers can only write in slogans, and characters can only act by either serving something or heroically sacrificing themselves. Orwellian in the best and worst sense.
The novel finds two friends sharing dinner: a writer, who never does anything but write what he's told, and a blood donor. That's his profession: he sells his own blood, is paid in cash, and spends his money on western goods and eastern women. The writer is complaining that he's been commissioned to write yet another book praising a revolutionary hero. You're the one who chose to be a writer, says his friend; what the hell did you expect? You can't change anything. And so the writer starts telling him what he wants to write but isn't allowed to. Cue a series of interwoven short stories about men and women he knows (or knows of, or just made up) and their attempts to find their way out of a situation where three seemingly opposing systems - old traditions, Maoist dogma and cutthroat capitalism - work beautifully together to keep everything as it was.
OK, it's not perfect; Ma is a little too fond of epithets (necessary in-story, of course, since the narrator can't name any names), and I'm honestly not sure if some of the views on women presented are supposed to be the characters', the narrator's, or Ma's. But what impresses me about The Noodle Maker isn't just how vivid the stories are, ranging from gallows humour (the way one character can't see a naked woman without praising Mao, for instance) to soul-hurtingly depressing, but also the way the narratives keep getting sneakily hijacked - by the narrator, by the propaganda that inevitably pops up everywhere whether it says "Praise the Party" or "Buy Coke". He does his best to subvert it, but he can never escape it; he can take control of the story as long as he doesn't say it out loud, but language itself has been politicized to the degree that writers can only write in slogans, and characters can only act by either serving something or heroically sacrificing themselves. Orwellian in the best and worst sense.
July 27, 2010
A scathing and sometimes funny portrayal of the period just after Deng Xiaoping's proclamation of the Open Door Policy and encouragement of capitalist initiatives. Suddenly every kind of small enterprise popped up, and ideals, whether traditional or Maoist, evaporated. Ma Jian satirizes this period with such characters as a professional blood donor, a young man who buys a pottery kiln and uses it for his own small cremation business, a woman who sacrifices herself on stage to a tiger as a piece of performance art, and others who wander through this novel, which is constructed from a series of interwoven stories. What binds these stories together is that they all seem to emerge from the fantasies, or perhaps experiences, of a professional writer who seems unable to write but quite capable of oral narration. The writer reaches the conclusion of his stories, and the nadir of his pessimism, with the tale of a three-legged dog who can talk and presents the argument that dogs are far superior to humans. One indeed finds little justification in this novel to believe otherwise. Ma Jian's book is one of the best satires I have read of the moral bankruptcy of those years, and, I regret to say, much of what he describes here resonates in contemporary China as well. Expect to be shocked, and at times disgusted, but this is an instructive read.
October 22, 2023
鈥濵e拧tar od rezanaca鈥� napisan je u duhu grotesknog, cini膷nog humora 膷iji je mrak pro啪et tra膷cima nade koja se javlja u ljudskoj otpornosti, prijateljstvu i ljubavi. Radnja romana sme拧tena je neposredno posle masakra na Tijenanmenu. Po膷inje sa dva prijatelja 鈥� profesionalnim piscem i profesioanlnim davaocem krvi 鈥� koji svakog dana zajedno ve膷eraju. 艩eng, pisac, udaljen je za samo jedan propagandni roman od ulaska u Veliki leksikon kineskih pisaca. On 啪udi da napi拧e roman zasnovan na 啪ivotima koje svakodnevno sre膰e ili li膷no poznaje, ali ga parali拧u posledice Partije koja mo啪e da mu potpuno unizi i cenzuri拧e karijeru. Kroz svoja razmi拧ljanja on pretvara 啪ivote ljudi koji ga okru啪uju u umetnost, na isti na膷in na koji jedan zanatlija od testa pravi ukusne rezance.
鈥濵e拧tar od rezanaca鈥� je uznemiruju膰 roman koji je u navratima pomalo te啪ak za 膷itanje, ali duboko poga膽a u srca 膷italaca, ba拧 kao ogor膷eni vapaj njegovih likova protiv ne膷ove膷nost u komunisti膷koj Kini. Nije potrebno da u pri膷ama ovog romana 膷itamo izme膽u redova da bismo osetili gorki bes i jad koji je Ma 膼ijen smelo usadio u svoje re膷i.
鈥濵e拧tar od rezanaca鈥� je uznemiruju膰 roman koji je u navratima pomalo te啪ak za 膷itanje, ali duboko poga膽a u srca 膷italaca, ba拧 kao ogor膷eni vapaj njegovih likova protiv ne膷ove膷nost u komunisti膷koj Kini. Nije potrebno da u pri膷ama ovog romana 膷itamo izme膽u redova da bismo osetili gorki bes i jad koji je Ma 膼ijen smelo usadio u svoje re膷i.
February 26, 2008
Wins the I am uncomfortable and I am laughing and I am going to have bad dreams tonight award
December 29, 2021
Through a collection of portraits of different caricatures from 1980s China, Majian delivers a subtle criticism of the CCP's corrupted governance. I really enjoyed reading this book, as all the short stories were well connected to each other and they were well focused on the development of a specific character. Each story presents how Deng's opening policies affect the main character's life. The characters are conceived as the creation of an idealist writer/narrator - Majian himself? - whose only way to escape reality under an authoritarian state is to write. Throughout the novel he dialogues with a blood-merchant, who exemplifies the opposite approach to Chinese everyday life: he thinks that "man needs to delve into life as it is, accepting as normal what he disgusts for the sake of profit, and to satisfy his needs"
Some interesting portraits: A father who desperately wants a son, is 'forced' by the One-Child policy to abandon his retarded daughter; an actress kills herself in public presenting the action as a "new performance from Japan"; an editor whose wife is obsessed with the new liberal reforms is influenced into leaving novel-writing, becoming a trader in the black market; a girl who loses her mind because the size of her breast arouses suspicions of plastic surgery among her colleagues, a dog who starts learning about human culture, eventually killing itself after reading "the reactionary thoughts of Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Freud and Hegel [...] which led him to lose his capacity of judgement".
My favourite story is the one describing a patriotic cremator, who, after hearing that China needs to reduce its population in order to keep its GDP growth rate, decides to promote his crematory as a patriotic industry that is "putting effort into doubling national output by the XXI century". This unhealthy obsession with country's directives leads him to convince his own mum to sacrifice herself in the name of population reduction, eventually cremating with "the internationale" in the background. I found this metaphor very witty, as it criticizes the absurdity of social-engineering projects such as the One-Child policy, and the way people blindly follow the Party's orders.
Some interesting portraits: A father who desperately wants a son, is 'forced' by the One-Child policy to abandon his retarded daughter; an actress kills herself in public presenting the action as a "new performance from Japan"; an editor whose wife is obsessed with the new liberal reforms is influenced into leaving novel-writing, becoming a trader in the black market; a girl who loses her mind because the size of her breast arouses suspicions of plastic surgery among her colleagues, a dog who starts learning about human culture, eventually killing itself after reading "the reactionary thoughts of Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Freud and Hegel [...] which led him to lose his capacity of judgement".
My favourite story is the one describing a patriotic cremator, who, after hearing that China needs to reduce its population in order to keep its GDP growth rate, decides to promote his crematory as a patriotic industry that is "putting effort into doubling national output by the XXI century". This unhealthy obsession with country's directives leads him to convince his own mum to sacrifice herself in the name of population reduction, eventually cremating with "the internationale" in the background. I found this metaphor very witty, as it criticizes the absurdity of social-engineering projects such as the One-Child policy, and the way people blindly follow the Party's orders.
December 23, 2024
picked this up from a charity shop in glasgow and read it on the plane home :^)
the stories are framed as fragments of an unfinished novel, but they aren't written from the perspective of the professional writer character who dreamt them up. he even gets mentioned tangentially in them.
in my opinion, the most interesting characters in this are the blood donor (who becomes obscenely wealthy from not only selling his own blood but exploiting other impoverished desperate people and circumventing regulations meant to protect them), the street writer, and the mother/son duo running the crematorium.
the rest of the short stories mostly paint a bleak picture of love and sex-- animalistic, degrading, domineering, manipulative, etc.
the stories are framed as fragments of an unfinished novel, but they aren't written from the perspective of the professional writer character who dreamt them up. he even gets mentioned tangentially in them.
in my opinion, the most interesting characters in this are the blood donor (who becomes obscenely wealthy from not only selling his own blood but exploiting other impoverished desperate people and circumventing regulations meant to protect them), the street writer, and the mother/son duo running the crematorium.
the rest of the short stories mostly paint a bleak picture of love and sex-- animalistic, degrading, domineering, manipulative, etc.
April 17, 2024
Je partais avec une sensation plut么t n茅gative (peut 锚tre 脿 cause de cette hideuse couverture). Mais plus les histoires s'encha卯nent, plus j'ai 茅t茅 prise dans la profondeur du propos. R茅sultat : je dois dire que c'est un livre tr猫s malin.
May 19, 2013
Although this book gives you several glances of the "less pretty" side of the Chinese culture, I must say that I found it dull, boring and awfully pornographic.
The book's main story is one of two guys who meet once in a week to share meat and mead, using this opportunity to discuss a couple of aspects of the world around them. One of the guys is a blood donor by profession, the other is a writer who has absolutely no brilliant ideas for his book about the government. Apparently what give the book its name is the fact that nearby where they meet (the writer's apartment) there is a restaurant that makes fish soup and the smell of it always invades the place. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly is the meaning of it and its relevance on the whole story, but the metaphor must be really good because I still haven't thought about any relations between them and, frankly, I don't think I'm even slightly interested in knowing it.
The book is not fixed on the conversation between this two characters: it shifts through the story of several people belonging to lower classes of the Chinese quotidian. The stories aren't completely bad, but I did not enjoy the writing style and the way the stories were told. Even though they are easy to understand, all of them are somewhat chaotic, don't seem to have a purpose or meaning and gosh, I have yet to see that much pornography in a book that is NOT supposed to be focused on people's sexual lives (which are portrayed in a very gruesome manner, by the way). I wish I was joking about it, but the author actually dedicates a whole chapter in the book to talk about women's breasts.
While I do understand that Chinese culture is sexually repressed, I still didn't find any of the sex scenes necessary in the story. Ma Jian also seems to be quite obsessed by the low and grotesque characteristics that humanize people, such as peeing, taking a dump, stinking and stuff like that, which appear very, very frequently.
This is a book that probably portrays China as it really is, from the point of view of poor people with decades of political oppression, which doesn't necessarily make it a good book. At least not one that I would recommend.
The book's main story is one of two guys who meet once in a week to share meat and mead, using this opportunity to discuss a couple of aspects of the world around them. One of the guys is a blood donor by profession, the other is a writer who has absolutely no brilliant ideas for his book about the government. Apparently what give the book its name is the fact that nearby where they meet (the writer's apartment) there is a restaurant that makes fish soup and the smell of it always invades the place. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly is the meaning of it and its relevance on the whole story, but the metaphor must be really good because I still haven't thought about any relations between them and, frankly, I don't think I'm even slightly interested in knowing it.
The book is not fixed on the conversation between this two characters: it shifts through the story of several people belonging to lower classes of the Chinese quotidian. The stories aren't completely bad, but I did not enjoy the writing style and the way the stories were told. Even though they are easy to understand, all of them are somewhat chaotic, don't seem to have a purpose or meaning and gosh, I have yet to see that much pornography in a book that is NOT supposed to be focused on people's sexual lives (which are portrayed in a very gruesome manner, by the way). I wish I was joking about it, but the author actually dedicates a whole chapter in the book to talk about women's breasts.
While I do understand that Chinese culture is sexually repressed, I still didn't find any of the sex scenes necessary in the story. Ma Jian also seems to be quite obsessed by the low and grotesque characteristics that humanize people, such as peeing, taking a dump, stinking and stuff like that, which appear very, very frequently.
This is a book that probably portrays China as it really is, from the point of view of poor people with decades of political oppression, which doesn't necessarily make it a good book. At least not one that I would recommend.
April 16, 2015
些械 懈蟹锌芯谢蟹胁邪屑 褋褉邪胁薪械薪懈械 芯褌 泻薪懈谐邪褌邪, 蟹邪 写邪 芯锌懈褕邪 薪邪泄-褟褋薪芯 褔褍胁褋褌胁芯褌芯, 泻芯械褌芯 锌褉械芯斜谢邪写邪胁邪褕械, 写芯泻邪褌芯 褟 褔械褌褟褏 - 胁褋械 械写薪芯 薪褟泻芯泄 薪邪褌懈泻胁邪 锌邪屑褍泻 胁 谐褗褉谢芯褌芯 屑懈, 斜邪胁薪芯 懈 屑械褌芯写懈褔薪芯.
袘芯谢械蟹薪械薪芯 懈 蟹邪写褍褕邪胁邪褖芯 褔械褌懈胁芯 蟹邪 芯褌褋褗褋褌胁懈械褌芯 薪邪 褔芯胁械褕泻芯褌芯 胁 械写懈薪 锌芯褋褌-袦邪芯 袣懈褌邪泄. 袩褉械锌芯褉褗褔胁邪屑.
袘芯谢械蟹薪械薪芯 懈 蟹邪写褍褕邪胁邪褖芯 褔械褌懈胁芯 蟹邪 芯褌褋褗褋褌胁懈械褌芯 薪邪 褔芯胁械褕泻芯褌芯 胁 械写懈薪 锌芯褋褌-袦邪芯 袣懈褌邪泄. 袩褉械锌芯褉褗褔胁邪屑.
February 9, 2021
I found this really interesting, but I only made it 2/3 through before I had to stop. The sexism and use of rape just made this something I didn鈥檛 want to get through. I鈥檓 not saying the author was presenting these things favorably, but I still couldn鈥檛 handle it.
July 13, 2013
Haunting and disturbing, but truly one that you must read. Like it should be magical realism, but this is not magic..just life. Definitely want to read more by Ma Jian
March 26, 2021
Cina, anni 鈥�90. Uno scrittore professionista 猫 chiamato dai suoi capi a scrivere un omaggio alle persone che emulano l鈥檈roe Lei Feng, che mise la sua vita al servizio della causa rivoluzionaria. Tuttavia, segue la sua vena creativa che lo porta a narrare la vita di una serie di personaggi complicati e problematici, persone che ha avuto modo di conoscere nella vita reale: abbiamo quindi un imprenditore che, acquistando una fornace dall鈥橝ccademia di belle arti, si mette in proprio mettendo su un crematorio privato, una bella attrice che, tormentata dai suoi incubi, finisce per compiere un suicidio pubblico e ancora, un padre che nella speranza di avere un figlio maschio cerca di liberarsi della primogenita ritardata, e altri ancora鈥�
Il romanzo si snoda in una duplice narrazione: da una parte i racconti composti dallo scrittore, dall鈥檃ltra la conversazione che intavola con il suo amico donatore di sangue professionista, il quale si presenta all鈥檕pposto del protagonista: con una mente pragmatica, non si fa scrupoli a svendere s茅 stesso e gli altri per inseguire il profitto.
L鈥檕pera in questione s鈥檌nquadra nella Cina post Politica di Riforma e Apertura, avviata con Deng Xiaoping con il lancio delle Quattro Modernizzazioni nel 1978, ma che ancora accusa gli eventi legati alla Rivoluzione Culturale. In diversi punti 猫 possibile individuare riferimenti ai numerosi cambiamenti introdotti dopo tali politiche, dai pi霉 piccoli, come la possibilit脿 di tinteggiare le pareti di rosa o di acquistare registratori, a quelli pi霉 grandi come l鈥檈mergere di scrittori d鈥檃vanguardia, ma tante sono ancora le limitazioni politiche e il rischio di essere bollato come 鈥渓iberal borghese鈥�.
Grazie alla splendida traduzione di Nicoletta Pesaro possiamo godere di un鈥檕pera davvero originale: un testo che disorienta in pi霉 punti il lettore, lo fa viaggiare tra i fili dei pensieri del protagonista, si spazia dalla crisi interiore a quella della societ脿, alle prese con questioni come il permesso di residenza, il programma di controllo delle nascite鈥�
A tratti cruento, comico, drammatico, l鈥檕pera rappresenta una evidente critica nei confronti del governo e della societ脿 cinese da parte di un autore le cui opere sono tutt鈥檕ggi censurate in Cina.
Il romanzo si snoda in una duplice narrazione: da una parte i racconti composti dallo scrittore, dall鈥檃ltra la conversazione che intavola con il suo amico donatore di sangue professionista, il quale si presenta all鈥檕pposto del protagonista: con una mente pragmatica, non si fa scrupoli a svendere s茅 stesso e gli altri per inseguire il profitto.
L鈥檕pera in questione s鈥檌nquadra nella Cina post Politica di Riforma e Apertura, avviata con Deng Xiaoping con il lancio delle Quattro Modernizzazioni nel 1978, ma che ancora accusa gli eventi legati alla Rivoluzione Culturale. In diversi punti 猫 possibile individuare riferimenti ai numerosi cambiamenti introdotti dopo tali politiche, dai pi霉 piccoli, come la possibilit脿 di tinteggiare le pareti di rosa o di acquistare registratori, a quelli pi霉 grandi come l鈥檈mergere di scrittori d鈥檃vanguardia, ma tante sono ancora le limitazioni politiche e il rischio di essere bollato come 鈥渓iberal borghese鈥�.
Grazie alla splendida traduzione di Nicoletta Pesaro possiamo godere di un鈥檕pera davvero originale: un testo che disorienta in pi霉 punti il lettore, lo fa viaggiare tra i fili dei pensieri del protagonista, si spazia dalla crisi interiore a quella della societ脿, alle prese con questioni come il permesso di residenza, il programma di controllo delle nascite鈥�
A tratti cruento, comico, drammatico, l鈥檕pera rappresenta una evidente critica nei confronti del governo e della societ脿 cinese da parte di un autore le cui opere sono tutt鈥檕ggi censurate in Cina.
June 7, 2023
This is a book I bought solely based on its cover, having no idea what the book is or who the author is, I decided to take a gamble, and that gamble paid off magnificently. The book follows the conversations between a writer and a blood donor and is a compilation of short stories that happen in the same town and are somewhat interlinked. Each story revolves around "writers" and the different ways they impact the world, some using their gifts to make the world a bit better while others use written words to manipulate people. It goes from one extreme to another and makes you understand each extreme. Definitely worth reading if you are someone who loves the craft of writing
January 4, 2019
4.5馃専
February 17, 2023
Ouf enfin fini, je suis 茅puis茅e. Pas aim茅. Lecture suivante
February 6, 2022
2,5
Min brist p氓 kunskap om Kina och den 枚sterl盲ndska ber盲ttartraditionen i kombo med en matf枚rgiftning gjorde att den h盲r boken och jag inte riktigt lirade. Romanen 盲r mycket kroppslig och mycket matig. Uppskattade delarna om skrivaren och han med krematoriet mest.
Min brist p氓 kunskap om Kina och den 枚sterl盲ndska ber盲ttartraditionen i kombo med en matf枚rgiftning gjorde att den h盲r boken och jag inte riktigt lirade. Romanen 盲r mycket kroppslig och mycket matig. Uppskattade delarna om skrivaren och han med krematoriet mest.
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