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The Frontier2008/03/01
text by Li Qin Can you imagine a tropical garden planted high above the sky in a cold northern city? Can you imagine an old man who lives in a river and can disappear at any time? Author Can Xue’s new book, The Frontier, transports us a bizarrely strange land: absurd, yet attractive in a magical way. The pen name, Can Xue, meaning “the dirty snow that refuses to melt,” tells us something about the strong or even stubborn characters of the author. She used to be a tailor, and later became a professional writer, leaving the tailor shop to her husband. Almost all her works can be described as “literature of the soul,” or “magical realism.” She mainly writes about dreams or the subconscious in her unique dream-like murmuring style. In a country with such a long history of rational and realistic writing as In The Frontier, Can Xue describes an imaginary little stone city in a far away frontier land. It’s a dream land with exotic snow mountains and jaguars, with wolves hiding as sheep, and with birds speaking what’s on people’s minds. A young couple comes to this land to pursue their dreams. Later they leave the city, leaving their daughter behind so she can pursue here own dreams. The novel has a very loose plot. Readers may find it hard to understand some characters. Yet people certainly will be impressed by the rich and colourful natural scenes in the book: poisonous butterflies, dying poplar trees, or small lizards that live on people’s foreheads. Can Xue explains how she writes, saying: “When I write, I always imagine a person behind me, editing my words. This person controls my writing, so I think all of my work is from this conscience. It's always one very abstract person in my head. I battle with myself and the characters in my works.” The Frontier（《边疆》） By Can Xue（残雪） Shanghai Art Publishing House (上海文艺出版社) January 2008, 25 yuan |
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