Book Report 1

As busy as they are keeping us here, I haven't had time for much reading. Indeed, it is not easy to find English language books out here. And given the weight restrictions that we had on our luggage, everyone was reluctant to carry too many books. In the few books I did bring, I tried to stick to a local theme. So I brought two classics of Chinese philosophy: "The Analects of Confucius" and the "Tao Te Ching." In addition, I carried with me a copy of "Soul Mountain," the major novel by Gao Xingjian, the first and only Chinese ever to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. So I'll give a quick review for those interested and will continue to report of my reading in China. Those not inclind to such matters might want to stop here.

"Soul Mountain" is a fairly good sized book, not exactly Dostoevksy but about respectabl at about five hundred pages. And it's taken me until a week or so ago to finish it, and I started it before I left China. In part this is because of the lack of time I've had for reading and in part this is because the book can be slow going. It especially takes a while to get into it. There is not a narrative in the traditional sense of the word. It begins with the author on a journey, and it is I gather an autobiograpical one. In 1983 the author was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given only a few months to live. Later it was discovered that the diagnosis was a mistake, and this revelation resulted in the author taking a journey. "Soul Mountain" has as its core this journey across China, but it mixes many other elements in it as well. The author will veer off to relate an ancient myth, for example. Or the author goes from being with one person in one place to being in a completely different location with new people, with no connection made between the two events.And sometimes the narrator's voice drops out completely and we are left to wonder who is telling the tale. As I said, it can be disorienting but I think it is definitely worth working your way through. You get carried along not only on a journey of space and time but on a voyage of ideas, even if you are not always sure where you are going on either.

I will quote the closeing lines: "I don't know where I am at this moment. I don't know where the realm of Heaven comes from, I look all around. I don't know that I don't understand anything and still think I know everything. Things just happen behind me and there is always a mysterious eye, so it is best for me just to pretend that I understand even if I don't. While pretending to understand, I still don't understand. The fact of the matter is I comprehend nothing. I understand nothing. That is how it is."