{"product_id":"notes-of-a-desolate-man-paperback","title":"Notes of a Desolate Man - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eT'Ien-Wen Chu\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eHoward Goldblatt\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eSylvia Lin\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWinner of the coveted \u003ci\u003eChina Times\u003c\/i\u003e Novel Prize, this postmodern, first-person tale of a contemporary Taiwanese gay man reflecting on his life, loves, and intellectual influences is among the most important recent novels in Taiwan. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe narrator, Xiao Shao, recollects a series of friends and lovers, as he watches his childhood friend, Ah Yao, succumb to complications from AIDS. The brute fact of Ah Yao's death focuses Shao's simultaneously erudite and erotic reflections magnetically on the core theme of mortality. By turns humorous and despondent, the narrator struggles to come to terms with Ah Yao's risky lifestyle, radical political activism, and eventual death; the fragility of romantic love; the awesome power of eros; the solace of writing; the cold ennui of a younger generation enthralled only by video games; and life on the edge of mainstream Taiwanese society. His feverish journey through forests of metaphor and allusion--from Fellini and Lévi-Strauss to classical Chinese poetry--serves as a litany protecting him from the ravages of time and finitude. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eImpressive in scope and detail, \u003ci\u003eNotes of a Desolate Man\u003c\/i\u003e employs the motif of its characters' marginalized sexuality to highlight Taiwan's vivid and fragile existence on the periphery of mainland China. Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin's masterful translation brings Chu T'ien-wen's lyrical and inventive pastiche of political, poetic, and sexual desire to the English-speaking world.\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this postmodern tale of a Taiwanese gay man reflecting on his life, loves, and intellectual influences, the narrator, Shao, recollects a series of friends and lovers as he watches his childhood friend, Ah Yao, succumb to complications from AIDS. The brute fact of Ah Yao's death focuses Shao's simultaneously erudite and erotic reflections magnetically on the core theme of mortality. His feverish journey through forests of metaphor and allusion -- from Fellini and Levi-Strauss to classical Chinese poetry -  serves as a litany protecting him from the ravages of time and finitude.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eChu T'ien-Wen has published fifteen books--novels, stories, memoirs, and film scripts--and has won five major literary prizes. She also received the best script award at both the Venice and Tokyo film festivals. Her most highly acclaimed works are \u003ci\u003eFin de Siècle Splendor\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNotes of a Desolate Man, \u003c\/i\u003e which was published in Taiwan in 1994. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHoward Goldblatt is professor of Chinese literature at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and translator of many books, most recently Mo Yan's \u003ci\u003eRed Sorghum\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSilver City\u003c\/i\u003e by Li Rui. He is also the coeditor, with Joseph Lau, of \u003ci\u003eThe Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eSylvia Li-chun Lin, who teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder, writes on modern Chinese literature and culture.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 184\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.58 x 9.27 x 5.53 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 04, 2000\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51762701435168,"sku":"9780231116091","price":25.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/98dc6619adf5732745e8a5ec15fbf308.webp?v=1780223858","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/notes-of-a-desolate-man-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}