Customer Reviews

Feathered Serpent: A Novel

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I might first note that some knowledge of classic Chinese literature might be helpful. There are references (some of which have footnotes) to what for ordinary Chinese would be familiar. Sun Wukong, the Monkey King in Journey to the West, was often held up as a role model by Mao. Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang are major characters in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is probably the best-known Chinese classic. Having said that, it is also important to note that this novel is published in the PRC: there are consequently some constraints to be expected vis-a-vis what political and social views might be openly discussed. If this novel were written by a political exile now living in the US, you might see something quite different.

Feathered Serpent is primarily about the women in a family, going back to the late 19th century. You get to see the cultural changes. Pale, unweathered skin, foot binding, tattoos, the rough and weathered hands of a field worker--the standards of "beauty" change. Life under the Dowager Empress, under Chiang, Mao, and the present regime are all quite different. You are made painfully aware of the superiority of sons over daughters. Yu/Yushe is the central figure, but she is the 4th generation in the novel, and there's also a 5th generation. This is not a family of peasant workers, although some in the book must work in the fields.

You get a very different kind of novel from what most of us are used to. The threads of the generations swirl around--everything is not in a nice careful chronological order. Doing so might have made the reader's job easier, but then the point would have been missed altogether. It's a richly textured novel, satisfying, but not one you can rush through.

The Feathered Serpent is a novel worth reading!

Probably due to the writer's extensive training in fine arts, the language of the Feathered Serpent is highly textured. Like an imagist poet equipped with the multimedia of the modern age, the writer portrayed a cinematographic epic with her silky language. Through the developments of the destinies of the heroines of the novel, the readers are able to probe the pulse of a real China of the past two centuries.

The poetic language provides the narratives with an unlimited space for imagination, which is at the same time moderated by the concreteness of history.

The Feathered Serpent is by no means a sentimental piece of female writing meant for the faint hearted. Unlike the female characters of Virginia Woolf, the heroines of the Feathered Serpent didn't resort to escapism. Instead, they either became the helpers of the patriarchal power or the challengers against their patriarchal mothers.

Translating such a piece of writing almost seemed a mission impossible. But I should admit that the translation published by Simon Schuster has exceeded my expectation. Based on principles of FAITHFULNESS, ELEGANCE and EXPRESSIVENESS, the English translation of the Feathered Serpent has reached a very high level of contemporary Chinese English translation. A highly artistic piece of writing, the Feathered Serpent tells its stories in such a gripping manner that most readers will feel naturally involved in the unraveling of all main characters' destinies. However, I would suggest all readers review the chronicle of events included in the appendix before they even start the 1st page.

I have to agree with a previous three-star reviewer: although this book can be absorbed fairly easily on a page-by-page basis, there is very little in it that keeps you reading. Were I simply reflecting my own lack of involvement, I would have given the novel one or two stars rather than three. But there is also the possibility that I am missing something that others more familiar with the culture would better understand, and readers with different expectations may get more out of this book, so I leave the matter open to doubt.

From the prepublication description, I had expected something like a fictional version of Jung Chang's memoir WILD SWANS, the story of the tumultuous changes in China over the past century as reflected in the lives of several generations of women in a single family. This is not at all the case. Although the book starts even further back, in the last years of the Qing monarchy, and comes very close to the present, it is very difficult to get much sense of the underlying political upheavals; in this respect, the short historical time-line given at the end is very helpful. Compounding the problem is the fact that the story is not told chronologically, but jumps around between generations, sometimes several times on the same page. The women in the main family line are easy enough to distinguish: Xuanming with the tiny feet, the cold aristocratic Ruomu, and her troubled daughter Yushe, the feathered serpent of the title. But when all the names are so unfamiliar, it is easy to get lost among all the relatives, servants, and hangers-on, and to cease to care about them as individuals.

All right, so this is not intended as a work of history. Its basic focus is on the psychology of the individual women, and less on the commonalities that would link them to family or nation. Many of the emotions are irrational or extreme and so much emphasis is placed upon sexuality, verging at times on sexual pathology, making it hard to see the women as more than a collection of damaged individuals. And some of the scenes are so bizarre -- for example one in a mountain temple where Yushe is tattooed on her back while simultaneously coupling with a Buddhist priest -- that it is hard to tell whether they are intended literally or symbolically. The writing, or at least the translation, wanders awkwardly between many different styles, from poesy to pseudo-science and everything in between.

The publisher's preface suggests that the book is a brave attempt to challenge cultural repression at a time when objective writing was impossible. This may explain the oblique style and the prevalence of symbolism and myth. But any coded messages that made the book such a success in China seem to have been lost in the translation into English.

Like many great foreign novels, to name a few, Gao Xingjian's "Soul Mountain," Orhan Pamuk's "Snow," and most recently Bolano's "2666," "Feathered Serpent" is a serious work of literature and may be at first a challenge to read thanks to Xu Xiaobin's unique structure. Yet it doesn't take long to grow to love for its lyrical language (which was translated beautifully), exotic and poetic imaginations, rich and profound allegories and metaphors, and so much more.

Most of all, beyond the beautiful writing, through the tragic life stories of these women in the span of over 100 years against the big backdrop of the Chinese modern history, Xu Xiaobin went deep into some of the ageless subjects we deal with: crime, punishment, suffering, endurance, and redemption. This is a book you need to stay with to the end. I felt rewarded, not by a Hollywood-style happy ending, but with a sense of understanding of human nature--regardless of one's nationality. Highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in China.

Rather than summarize the story as others have aptly done so, I would like to focus upon the style and context of this written artwork.

The author captivates the reader through beautiful and intricate language imparting a vivid sense of imagery and strong emotions. The reader learns about the interpersonal relationships amongst family members, unfortunately favoring the male over females, as well as getting a brief glimpse into Chinese culture, religion and society.

However, since the book frequently changes from third person to first person perspectives, the reader must constantly pay attention to the context to understand who is speaking. The book covers the relationship of a woman in her her family and what is expected of her.

Given the length of the text, I would have expected more character development - which detracted from the value of covering this text. Some of the symbolism depicted in the book was also lost in translation, from my perspective. In addition, events to which the story refers is assumed by the author (again, a historical perspective should have been included since there are references to events that occurred such as the riots in Tiananmen Square). It becomes confusing between what is supposed to occur versus what is happens in the imagination of the character, Yu.

CONCLUSION:

In summary, if a commentary or editorial was added in the final version (preferably a preface/background) to elaborate on the nuances and historical/cultural details for a Westerner to further understand this beautiful work, the book would get 5 stars.

I hope the final version works towards that goal. I enjoyed the book and reading this text, actually takes reading it twice to get a better understanding.

Beautifully written, superbly translated, Feathered Serpent is finally taking off in the Western world. This is one of the few best Chinese novels that got published in English in recent years. Xu Xiaobin is a writer steeped with Chinese classic writing. The story of Feathered Serpent unwinds slowly in a non-chronological manner with mystic, dreamy and fairytale-like episodes. You will first find her characters distant and foreign, may not be even engaging, but with the passing of time, you begin to see them in the immediate foreground, walking towards you momentarily in the living realities. By the time you reach the last chapter, you will find all pieces of the lives of these characters fallen in place, non-chronologically, but logically. The author weaved her stories by the logic development of each character. That is one of the strengths of her writing that I truly admire, which undoubtedly made the novel a very satisfying read.

Xu Xiaobin's Feathered Serpent received numerous and endless reviews and studies in China over the course of ten years since its first publication. Its complexity, narrative styles, and allegoric imaginations have attracted university students of writing and comparative literature. In Feathered Serpent, Xu tells the relationships among women---mother and daughter, sisters, and best girl friends who fall in love with the same man. The stories of these women are beyond the cultural boundaries, and transcend time.

It might be a challenge for Western readers, at the first glance, but if giving a little time and patience and an open mind, you'll walk away with a wealth of knowledge of Chinese culture, and more importantly, a wealth of knowledge about women.

Upon finishing this book: I actually loved it and felt that some points may have been lost in translation. You have to finish the whole book to truly appreciate what a great master piece this novel is. I struggled at the beginning with all the names and only to discover at the back pages of a list of the names and their relationship with one another - I wished they put this information at the front of the book! None-the-less, this novel was filled with depth of imagination, of struggles that each of the five generations faces and how each character dealt with life's journey that is often filled with ups and downs; some people luckier than others. How Yu/Yushe, the center character, found love in the strangest of places and the struggles she faced to be understood in a very formal culture; and finally to have found redemption. I can not in this review give enough justice to such a richly written novel. And woven in the story are fabrics of the chinese culture and the history. You do feel complete when you finish reading this novel; I didnot feel there were stones left unturned. I highly recommend this book and dont worry that you struggle a little in the first 50 pages - boy is it worth it in the end.

I read the book in Chinese three years ago. It got very good comments from Chinese, because it explores the code of Chinese political psychology. I am so excited when I read English version. The translation is excellent. Well, it should be a little difficult for Americans to understand the work at first glance. You might need some knowledge about Chinese political history since 19th century. It's worth since you can find a new world when you read this work.

It took me a long time to get into this book. It was confusing. It was lyrical and lush with descriptions but it weaves back and forth between characters, present tense and past tense ... it wasn't until I found the guide in the back that I started enjoying my book. That is my first advice, look for the glossary of names and the chronicles of historical events. Do that first thing. It will help make this book readable and better.

Secondly, read this on two levels, one as a novel and another as a news statire. If you know your Chinese history, you will see the subtle hints the author gives out about her state of mind regarding China.

Thirdly, make sure you have a book club that is interested in reading this novel because it is such an immense book you will want to talk to someone about it. It is beautifully written, very lyrical and lush. It is confusing and yet not confusing. It all comes together and you are left at the end wondering what it is that Yu (the main character) has discovered.

I wish for my book clubs to read this book but the majority of them are busy raising young kids so we don't have the time to read a book this intense. But it is beautiful and it shows the story of one family through 100 years. In my mind, I imagine the author is writing about China and her people, Yu is really China and her relatives are the ordinary people who live and die in China. Their histories are all combined and interwoven together. They represent all of the people with the love and self-loathing, the dreams and disappointments and political hopes and upheavals and the ordinary and extraordinary things that happens in a country like China.

It is really a fascinating reading, even if it is long and confusing. It is not your typical translated novel ... it goes beyond that. It reminds me of Russian novels of old where there are double meanings layered in between the words. This is a good insight to a Chinese's thoughts and dreams of her country and how she experiences it.

It is not my favorite book, but it is one that I won't forget so easily. The story still lingers long after the last page has been turned and once again, I wish I had a book club to discuss this book with.

1/8/09