Review by Choice Review
This translation of 41 pieces in Market Street (Shangshi Jie) is a series of somewhat connected and continuous episodes in the life of the author Xiao Hong (Hsiao Hung, whose real name was Zhang Naiying) in Harbin from the summer of 1932 to some time in May 1934. These pieces are generally viewed as a group of essays and are often published separately. The original Chinese volume was published under her pseudonym Qiao Yin in 1936. These pieces may very well be autobiographical, but may not necessarily be an autobiography as the translator insists they should be. In his introduction, the translator admits that the work is ``episodic'' and ``discontinuous in its detailed organization.'' Writing about her life with her estranged lover Xiao Jun (Langhua in the book), Xiao Hong's tone is somewhat bitter and reminiscent. However, the translator seems to place too much emphasis on the ``feminist'' and ``anti-male tone'' of the work in his introduction. Writing in her early 20s, the author shows all her talent in detailed, if rather self-centered, depictions and sensitive style. Thus, the book makes good reading for women's studies and for readers who appreciate this type of feminine sensitivity in literary works. Howard Goldblatt (San Francisco State University) is an authority on Xiao Hong and her chief translator into the English language. Among his works and translations is Hsiao Hung (CH, Sep '77). The translation of this work is reliable and readable. It is suitable for undergraduate and community college students.-Y.L. Walls, University of British Columbia
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Published originally in China in 1936, Market Street is Chinese novelist Xiao Hong's account of two years spent in the trading city of Harbin with her lover, Langhua. The young lovers' first year together was one of abject poverty. In times of greater prosperity, however, it becomes evident that both were extremely self-centered. At one point Xiao Hong remarks, with innocent narcissism, ``I have little interest in making friends with people whose enviroments differ from mine.'' This simple little book has the irresistible appeal of all narratives of survival, and it is also an interesting account of the times, which included the Japanese occupation of China in 1931. Later Xiao Hong became an anti-Japanese writer of considerable celebrity, although her death at age 30 prevented a really extensive literary contribution. Howard Goldblatt's translation is, on the whole, sensitive and sympathetic, though his work occasionally shows a trace of stiff and rather academic vocabulary. PM. 895.1'35 [CIP] 85-40357
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A light, lovely, earnest ""autobiographical fiction"" by an eminent Chinese woman writer (The Field of Life and Death, Tales of Hulan River) who died tragically at age 30, presenting her experiences in Harbin between 1932-1934. Published in China in 1936 and now translated into a foreign language for the first time, this is the author's least known work, but it's full of airy charm. Frothily, anecdotally, it takes us through prewar Harbin. as 22-year-old Xiao Hong and her lover, Langhua, eat black khleb (Russian bread) and very little else for days on end, form a Drama Troupe, publish stories and essays, and tutor pupils in both the martial arts and the Chinese Classics in order to pull in a few extra yen. Xiao Hong observes, rarely complains, accepts hardship, and treats life as a matter-of-fact adventure, weathering potential infidelities on the part of her mate (there was the lovely, rich Wang Lin from next door, and the beautiful, rich Miss Cheng from Shanghai, not to mention Miss Minzi, Xiao Hong's predecessor, who mended the coat Langhua still wears--he shows our stoical narrator the very peach-colored threads from Miss Minzi's needle). Finally, though, things grow too hot in Harbin--Japanese policemen loom from every doorway--and so Xiao Hong and Langhua give away his ceremonial sword and quit the stimulating international city on the River for points south. Elegant, whimsical, and surprisingly easy to read (translation is excellent), this slim volume details the thoughts of a woman and the history of a period, as well as all the small moments that make up a life. A classic of contemporary Chinese literature, and quite worthwhile. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
