Yu Da-Fu, Chenlun (Sinking) /郁達夫, 沉淪

Yu Da-Fu, Chenlun (Sinking) /郁達夫, 沉淪

Recognized as one of the most important modern literary voices in the Chinese May Fourth Movement, Yu Da-Fu is known for his daring treatment of sexual desires among educational youths. His writing style shares a slightly likeness with the I-novel* found in Japanese literature. One of the most famous works from this iconic novelist is Chenlun (Sinking), in which he tells the story of a Chinese young man’s life as a foreign student in Japan. Rich, luscious but all the while brooding, Chenlun is a genuine portrayal of a troubled young man whose anxiety for sex and love we all share commonly, and yet, the patriotic spirit that embodies the protagonist, however the readers try to identify, remains so long lost to our generation that it is only unlikely to recall.

The work remotely recalls our first encounter with the young artist in The Sorrow of Young Werther (Die Leiden des jungen Werther) by Goethe, whose melancholic protagonist arouses sympathy from readers over generations. While Werther suffers for his unrequited love, the sentimentality in Yu’s protagonist derives more from the absence of love and the unfulfilled sexual desire. Having all the desire and feelings in the world, but with none to share with, the newly matured young man suffers tremendously an alienation that is hard to endure. Therefore, as he bestows himself upon the healing power of nature and practices the life of romanticists, nature then becomes his only escapade.

The final complaint from the protagonist, rather than an accusation towards the country, is instead a bitter exclamation to call for a more powerful country. For his suffering is not merely the result of his self-disappointment, but also the incompetence in China’s diplomacy in worldly affairs. For modern readers, Yu reminds a time when individual and the country are inseparable; he brings to us the nostalgic feeling towards the time when patriotism is still deeply rooted within every individual. We could not help but wonder since when it has gone from us, and for how long without our awareness.

Chenlun, having much involvement with natural surroundings, is a romantic tale of an upright young man. Yu accurately captures the hollowness and meaninglessness of a lone man’s life; his representation of human desires raw and meanwhile so fundamentally truthful. As one of the most prestigious modernist writers in the early twentieth century, Yu sets for Chinese Literature an example of a character courageous enough to face his true self, a voice that is daring enough to speak out. Stylish but without embellishment, Yu Da-Fu excellently captures in his work the last innocence remained in a maturing individual, an account over a period that has already, regrettably, flown past us without leaving any trace behind.

*I-novel: A genre sprang from Japanese literature in the early twentieth century. It includes works that features realistic and honest self-confession from the protagonist, through whom experiences are represented truthfully.

Written on the Body

Jeanette Winterson, Written on the Body

As readers, we praise those writers who can once in a while bring something different to the table, things that serve our insatiable desire towards always a different perspective, different narrative from yet another surprising protagonist. We claim ourselves to be too familiar with the literary device that oftentimes we judge certain work to be uninspiring and clichéd. However unjust this might appear, in our attempt to evaluate a certain piece of literature, we must, personal feelings aside, summon the whole literary context to see in what position this work might find its stance. In Written on the Body, English novelist Jeanette Winterson showcases a perspective that may be considered idiosyncratic; however, the efforts conveyed only appear self-indulgent and patronizing when she fails to engage the reader with her over-polished language and the obviously contrived narrative.

Written on the Body takes up gender issues but without further examining it. Given an unnamed protagonist with no sexual specifications, we find ourselves wondering anxiously through the novel whether the speaker is a he or she, our anxiety a solid proof that we are too much confined within the social stereotypes. Nevertheless, the tale falls short in sustaining this issue and exploring its other possibilities. As descriptions of the “Body” are restricted mostly to that of the females’, the work concerns too much with its self-appointed sex than the panoramic examination which is otherwise promised. Winterson’s inconsistent treatment over such issue ultimately restricted the work into a prejudiced narrative that it originally tries to mock.

One significant part of the novel contributes to a series reference to human body parts, through which the protagonist identifies his/ her feelings towards the loved one. Here the author tries to bridge the gap between physical and spiritual existence, and to develop in flesh a “language” that represents love. Despite its seeming innovation, the metaphorical relation between body and mind seems awkward and forced when Winterson only manages to present forced connections through her over-sentimental love account. The main plot, interrupted by such experimental writing, appears incoherent in its development, the tale relatively common and stale.

Written on the Body stumbles on its way to revelation; it is a philosophical meditation that goes astray. Winterson unfortunately does the translation between the body and the mind poorly as our mentor; consequently, the book reveals nothing but Greek. The book is unbelievably self-indulgent as the protagonist absorbs in his/her own intoxication all the way through. Eventually, the author proves herself not prophet but a common mortal who, like all of us, struggles to find the truth. Readers would be surprised to find, despite the work’s rather short length, how dull and lengthy the novel feels with only false teaching contains. Obviously, we need a guru with clearer mind; one who can teach us his/her own philosophy, instead of a second rate thinker who makes us all fools by following her all over the place. This book is nothing but a great disappointment.

True History of the Kelly Gang

Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang

Twelve years after the 1988 success of Oscar and Lucinda, the Australian author Peter Carey again won The Man Booker Prize with his seventh novel True History of the Kelly Gang, in which he fictionalizes the life of Ned Kelly, one of Australia’s most famous bushranger. With this well devised portrait of the legendary outlaw, Carey reintroduces to the reader the unknown history of the hero through the composition of thirteen parcels, each Kelly’s own disclosure of different stages in his life. Dotted with engaging incidents, True History is a fairly paced chronicle that documents the Australian lowlifes in the Victorian age, when people faces everyday injustices; Carey successfully constructs a faux-memoir that is honest and believable, a literary tribute carefully done to commemorate Ned Kelly and his Gang.

Compiled from several reports and autobiography, True History immediately constructs an illusional “fact” that seems genuine and true. The book begins with a report on the final defeat and capture of Ned Kelly then starts with his account over his early life. With knowledge over the tragic fate that will eventually befall the protagonist, readers inevitably detect an elegiac undertone throughout the book. As Kelly addresses each thirteen parcels, all of which resonate with fatherly love, to his daughter who he never has the chance to meet, readers are helplessly drawn towards the intriguing plot and the inescapable, namely the hero’s downfall.

Remotely reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s work, Carey’s portrait of the life in the wilderness is comparatively more lively and interesting. As readers follow Kelly’s steps through a journey along the Australia landscape, we are awed by the rawness of its beauty, the magnificence of its range, and with the brutal and violent truth within so mesmerizing a panorama.

True History tells a tragic tale of a hero, a man who fights against the injustices all his life to no avail. Ned Kelly is a steadfast character who, in the end, dies for his own principles. His unyielding characteristic may be the one reason that results in his final fall; however, it is also this rebellion to the corrupted authority that marks the essence of Australian spirit, the steadfastness in human beings. Carey’s reconstruction of the Kelly Gang recalls back to the reader a great moment of human nature, one that shines through time and culture. It is a reminder of the heroic past which seems so long lost in our generation; an attempt to recall in all of us the courage to stand for our own beliefs. For even if we failed miserably, our spirits, like that of Kelly’s, would remain to mark its very own effort in the end .