English by Wang Gang: A Book Review

About a month ago I received a copy of Wang Gang's English in the mail, the tale of a boy living in my neck of the woods around the time of the Cultural Revolution.  It turned out to be a fun read although not exactly what I expected.  If you're interested in hearing what I thought, I've posted a partial review here along with a link to Danwei.org where the full review has been placed.  Please take a moment over there to read and comment if you like.

As a side note that didn't seem appropriate to add in the actual review, I did a little "location" research on this book and came across some interesting findings.  As you'll see in the review, this book is a best seller here in China and has won numerous awards - one of the reasons it was chosen for translation from its original Chinese.  In an attempt to get my hands on a copy of this book in Chinese I found out that not only had a single one of my friends not read this book, they had never even heard of it.  I went to the city bookstore  (the largest) and they gave me the same run around, asking if I was sure that was the name of the author and book.  "Sorry, we've never carried that book".  Keep in mind that I live only a few hours from where this book is set.  I still don't have a copy of the Chinese version in my hands and although I'm sure there are plenty of people here in Xinjiang aware of this book, I personally know none of them. Of course, it is a book about Xinjiang during a VERY dark time in it's history, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.
 

So if you're curious as to what kind of book might be censored from the eyes of Xinjiang citizens, please read on.  I'm just copying the first half, but I personally think the second half - the half that is on Danwei.org - is the most interesting.  Enjoy.

 

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Insatiable Longings: A Review of Wang Gang's English

First published in 2004, Wang Gang's English has become an unexpected bestseller in China and has won numerous awards including the 2005 "Best Novel of the Year" from the prestigious People's Literature Publishing House.  Almost five years later, with rights to the novel sold around the world, it is finally being published by Viking Penguin into the language from which its title is derived.  Translated from the Chinese by Martin Merz and Jane Weizhen Pan, it remains yet to be seen whether English will prove as popular on the international market as it has been back in its home country.

The novel depicts life during the darkest part of the Cultural Revolution as seen through the eyes of Love Liu, a twelve year old boy living in Urumqi, the capital of China's far western province of Xinjiang.  While his mother is busy designing an air raid shelter and his dad is away testing the hydrogen bomb in the Lop Nor region, Love Liu is left to navigate his way through life as best as he can on his own.  The arrival of a new English teacher named Second Prize Wang, a polished Shanghai man in his twenties, inspires Love Liu to direct all his energy and effort toward learning English.

In addition to the novelty of his strong cologne, tailored suits, and western mannerisms, Second Prize Wang also owns a rare copy of a Chinese-English dictionary, reputedly the only copy in all of Urumqi.  The moment Love Liu lays eyes on its navy blue cover, he develops a desire to have the dictionary all for himself and covets the new world it represents.  It becomes an insatiable longing played out in often times humorous behavior, eventually resulting in his leg broken during an attempted theft.

"I cannot think of another book that was as irresistible to me as that dictionary.  It brought me more knowledge, or I should say joy, than any other book.  If I rearranged the words in the dictionary, the entire world would open up before me."

Outside the safety and comfort of the classroom, and to some extent beyond the understanding of adolescent eyes, the Cultural Revolution waged war on society.  As the horrors of the revolution, including public executions and suicides, became a common occurrence in Urumqi, even young children like Love Liu and his friends cannot escape the suspicion of counter-revolutionary activity or the pressure to denounce those who were once considered friends and neighbors.

Love Liu can only watch as his father is humiliated, his teacher is falsely accused, and his friend is shot.  Little by little, he finds himself disillusioned by the hostile world around him.  Searching for things in his life that feel beautiful and foreign - things such as English or the lure of an attractive woman - Love Liu throws himself whole-heartedly into the pursuit of these obsessions as a way to escape the harsh reality of his present circumstances.  This pursuit will eventually lead him to an understanding that the true definition of words like "love", "compassion", and "mercy" can never be fully expressed on the pages of a dictionary.

"Second Prize Wang was like a missionary in those days, only his religion was English."

[Follow the link to Danwei.org for the rest of the review]