Dialogues in Paradise [Paperback]

Xue Can (Author), Ronald R. Janssen (Translator), Jian Zhang (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chinese Can Xue's first book to appear in English radically departs from the realism governing the fiction of her compatriots. "Because of universal love," she declares, "human beings can detach and sublimate themselves in the realm of art." The stories here reflect an interior vision in which conflict is represented impressionistically, symbolically. "My mother has melted into a basin of soap bubbles," begins the confession of a man literally bestialized by his anger; elsewhere, a protagonist suddenly perceives that "Father . . . has the all-too-familiar eye of a wolf. So that was it! At night he became one of the wolves." Other metaphors resist decoding ("The transparent tree is shaking its white canopy") and some conceits seem coy ("That night she lay down and suddenly realized she had not gone to sleep"). Can Xue's insistence on a set of hermetic referents strains her powers as a storyteller--the narrative yields almost wholly to steadily mutating images. Ironically, the most dynamic of these works is also the most conventional--a poignant autobiographical account of Can Xue's childhood in the late '50s and '60s, the hardships that political upheaval visited upon her family and the circumstances and aspirations that have shaped her writing.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English, Chinese (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 173 pages
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press; 1 edition (June 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810108313
• ISBN-13: 978-0810108318
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,116,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dream stories., September 4, 2009

By 

Dick Johnson (Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dialogues in Paradise (Paperback)

This series of short stories is a total departure from the norm of realistic writing by Chinese authors. The entire set of stories can be viewed as dreams, many of which have elements from prior stories.

She seems fascinated by birds and insects, as they are common elements. Though 'dark' in nature, the dreams are more surreal than nightmare. Each has that disconnect from the rational that is common to those stories we tell ourselves while we sleep.

Not as enjoyable as her "Five Spice Street"; this will appeal to those wanting to read her earlier writing or those looking for work from China that doesn't fit the mold.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abstract, beautiful, March 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dialogues in Paradise (Paperback)

I had to read this "short" story for my high school sophomore honors english class a few months ago. We were studying literature with non-Western characteristics. Such as the plot line, which was not the Aristotle mountain (rising action, falling action). Months later, I am still remembering lines and sections from this book. Can Xue's writing has affected not only my own writing, but my outlook on other literature, poetry, and art. I would definitly call this book abstract, beautiful and worth owning.