Elsewhere: 'Wonderful writing' Sarah Hall

Product Information

And what do we say when many years later people ask us about the big earthquake in 2008★” Vertical said. She planned to return to the US, but Daniel persuaded her otherwise. “He had a really good strategy. He said, ‘I’m happy to go [to the US]. But as a writer, you’ve experienced China and the United States, both big countries with dominating cultures. And it might be good for you as a writer if you go to Ireland to experience a smaller country.’” She laughs. “So he really knew me. Coming to Ireland would potentially make me a better writer. That’s how he sold it to me.” Hence, as mentioned above, Ge’s willingness to jump off a cliff. In Ireland her son was born and then they moved to Norwich in 2018, where Ge still lives. I ask her about the story Shooting an Elephant, where a Chinese woman, Shanshan, gets annoyed by Dubliners shouting “ni hao” (Chinese for “hello”) at her in the street, or asking her to read their Chinese tattoos. Did these things happen to Ge in Ireland? Yan’s moment of frustration translated into a title of perfect resonance. “If somebody who grew up here read a story that took place in China, they’d say, ‘that’s elsewhere’. But to me, all the stories that took place here were my elsewhere,” she explains. “Elsewhere is dependent on who’s looking.”

I wanted to like this book, but it didn't work for me. I don't know whom to recommend this book, but if it is on your list, please read it. It might be a gem for you. From multi-award-winning author Yan Ge, a shimmering, genre-bending English-language debut that announces the next phase in a major literary career. When Pigeon’s mother reflects on the question, she is in bed dying, one month remaining before her sojourn on this planet ends. It gains more poignancy from that. The time when social fictions no longer hold meaning. We are reduced to humans in bodies of skin and bone and not some compartment in which our physical features or language place us. Appropriately, Elsewhere explores translation as a process of approaching commonality on both a linguistic and political level: be it between women and men, East and West, writers and non-writers. Why this fixation on the gaps? “As somebody who writes fiction, I think I worship the unattainability of human communication,” Yan says. “That’s something I celebrate. Because if language was efficient enough to express ourselves – and I’m going to quote Confucius now – then we don’t need fiction.

Need Help?

Yan Ge was born Dai Yuexing in 1984 in Sichuan, China. She began publishing in 1994. She completed a PhD in comparative literature at Sichuan University and is the Chair of the China Young Writers Association. Her writing uses a lot of Sichuanese, rather than Standard Chinese (Mandarin).[1] People’s Literature (Renmin Wenxue 人民文学) magazine recently chose her – in a list reminiscent of The New Yorker's ‘20 under 40’ – as one of China's twenty future literary masters. In 2012 she was chosen as Best New Writer by the prestigious Chinese Literature Media Prize (华语文学传媒大奖 最佳新人奖). Yan Ge (Chinese: 颜歌; born 1984) is the pen name of Chinese writer Dai Yuexing (戴月行). Elsewhere” is not simply a novel about a specific time and place; it transcends these boundaries to explore universal themes of family, love, and the search for meaning. Ge’s prose is both lyrical and raw, evoking a wide range of emotions as readers journey alongside her characters. The narrative structure, presented through interconnected vignettes, allows for a deeper introspection into the complexities of human existence. The English-language debut from celebrated author Yan Ge is a genre-bending short story collection that’s as haunting, dreamlike, and addictive as a melatonin-induced slumber." — Nylon You’ve mentioned that dinner a number of times already,” Vertical said. “And you’re reading Old Stone’s poetry book.”

It’s quite hard for me to like a story as I am myself baffled with the direction of the stories and I think I know why. It was because I read these short stories on my own- alone. I think it would be better for me if I would to buddy-read and indulge myself in discussions regarding the stories.

Elsewhere” is a thought-provoking debut that showcases Yan Ge’s talent as a storyteller. With its exploration of language, cosmopolitan settings, and visceral quality, the book pushes the boundaries of storytelling. Despite some stories feeling overloaded with ideas, “Elsewhere” is an impressive collection that establishes Yan Ge as a versatile writer with a unique voice. Conclusion If people tell me, ‘As a writer it will be better for you to jump off this cliff’, I would totally jump off that cliff!” I’m talking to the novelist and short story writer Yan Ge about her decision to come from her birth country of China to Ireland in 2015 – to jump off the cliff. So I suppose the real question is—another Zhuangzian one—do you actually want to live or not★” He continued: “With my girlfriend, I realized she had given up when she lost her appetite. First she said she wasn’t hungry and then she just hated food, couldn’t stand looking at it, smelling it, or even hearing about it. One day we got up, I said, ‘What do you want to have for breakfast★’ and she screamed as if someone had stabbed her with a knife. That was when I knew she’d made up her mind.” The sixth, "No Time To Write", is a story of an Irish woman who grew up, among other places, in Shanghai, and has had a complicated relationship with her parents and herself. Lots of self pity and victimhood here. The whole story feels like a rant by an infantile young adult.

Moving between the contemporary and the historical, the frighteningly dystopian to the hyper-real, Yan Ge’s English-language debut is a mastery of the short story form. A prolific writer in her native China, Ge has won the prestigious Mao Dun Literature Prize and was named by People’s Literature magazine as one of 20 future literature masters in China. After they left the table, I took out my book and began to read. The TV was on in the next room, and Sister Du and the waitresses were watching the news, weeping. As someone who can read both Chinese and English, I am fascinated by how smoothly the code-switching is being presented in her stories. And most importantly, how she can smoothly switch between context where you know characters are speaking in Chinese but they are written in English dialogues while sometimes, Pinyin is used and sometimes Chinese characters are used. The swift and smooth transitions between these use of different language proves the point Yan Ge wanted to express where language is like a signifier, a tool for storytelling instead of an indication of authenticity or particular identity. Young Li spat out a bone and disclosed a name that I had learned in my Local History class at elementary school.One of the standout themes in “Elsewhere” is the exploration of language and its ability to transcend understanding. In the first story, Pigeon, a young fiction writer, learns from a group of drunken poets that the essence of poetry lies in the emotions and experiences it evokes rather than in its literal meaning. This theme recurs throughout the book, highlighting the transformative power of language and its ability to connect people on a deeper level. Elsewhere” is Yan Ge’s debut novel written in English, showcasing her talent as a storyteller. The book takes readers on a journey through various time periods and locations, immersing them in a world that is both familiar and foreign. The stories in “Elsewhere” are jangly and eclectic, filled with dissonances and unexpected twists. Strange Beasts of China feels like a riddle and a parable and a dream, the kind of book you want to get lost in.”