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The Pope’s Left Hand
by Friedrich Christian Delius
Translated from the German by Robert A. Cantrick

Life and Times in Shanghai

Fu Ping is a character-driven novel, so we shouldn't be surprised to find new characters popping up as the story progresses and in fact the city of Shanghai itself poses both as a structure and figurative character of the novel.

Having lived in Shanghai for most part of her life, Nainai has been attuned to its lifestyle and the attributes has been ingrained in her attitude and understanding of life while shaping her personality. Nainai is a widowed woman who has seen her future, when she'll be no longer able to work and support herself, and she's looking forward to be settled, should the need arise, with her adopted grandson—with whom she's planning to marry Fu Ping with—in the future. Following this, she invites Fu Ping to live with her in Shanghai, before being married.

We get peek into the lives and lifestyles of Shanghai residents, particularly of those Nainai work for and served before, and those of like her¹ who ended up in Shanghai for various reasons. The growing attraction to the city settlement and the movement of migrants from the villages into the centre and its outskirts depict the changing time of the history, evolved around Chinese Cultural Revolution, when Shanghai lured people from all provinces and they brought along their idiosyncratic dialects and accents which have often been mentioned in the story.

1.       Bereft of family support, these women were forced to be self-reliant. The longer they stayed away from home, the less often they returned. And when they did, the visit was usually short-lived. They were no longer used to their hometown environment, which habitually led to bouts of diarrhea or a rash, and that sent them right back, often bringing along another woman or two to find work in a city household.

Taciturn, bashful and sensitive, Fu Ping is a hard-to-understand girl, at least for those around her and particularly for Nainai. She shows natural behavior but always keeps a wall of unpredictability between herself and others. Soon Fu Ping starts to feel comfortable in the new settlement² not wanting to leave and understand the clues of Nainai. But this is already a long span of time and her lengthy stay starts to trouble Nainai, who wants the marriage to happen soon and thus be relieved.

2.       She learned the richly complex histories of local families, each of which possessed a story worthy of characters in a movie or a play. Village life seemed to never change, not for generations, and one family was very much like all the others. Not here, where backgrounds were different, where every story was filled with unique twists and turns. She had thought that everyone in Shanghai lived a life of ease and comfort until she realized how hard it was to make a living in a city. People in Shanghai were proof of that.

The attention to details³ that the author has given to the objects, houses, seasons, streets and characters cannot be skimmed or scanned, because we soon understand, this is the way she wants to present the story of the city and lives of array of characters that are in one way or another associated with Fu Ping, moulding her or becoming her part of experiencing the new life or just living behind an impression. As Fu Ping delves and understands the Shanghai life with its textures unraveling, so do we, at her pace and see her wanting to connect with people, except that she finds it hard to open up with those close to her.

3.       Freshly washed mops hung from windows of the frame houses on the banks. They were too far from people washing clothes in the river to hear their conversations or the bawling children. The boat’s engine noise smothered all other sounds and created a greater distance to the riverbank. A few of the multistoried buildings seemed to be following them, standing tall in the clear sky, their concrete rooftops reflecting the sun’s rays. The river was dark by comparison, and they seemed to be sailing through the shadows cast by buildings. And yet, a muted light rose up from the river bottom, settling on their faces to form a soft glow, while the light on the banks was harsher. The city appeared lofty and mammoth when seen from the river, and alien. They were in one of the city’s remote reaches, far from densely packed city structures, which were yet visible. Sunlight refracted off the complex surfaces before settling on one spot. And so, a glance in that direction was rewarded with a thicket of bright light, almost as if a small sun were perched there. Light gusts of wind brushed the water’s surface, chilling the travelers’ faces, hands, and feet.

Strong and weak ties, shrewd reactions and unspoken virtue that govern the lives of residents—some of whom share a common past—in Shanghai can be observed in the way the characters interact or think of each other. We move in and out of personal feelings of Fu Ping and Nainai, and sometimes just observe them as they glide through the narrative. At times, it seems like Fu Ping and Nainai's character opens door to multitude of lives and stories, which have socially and culturally evolved, but women's life and times in the given period has illuminated all the episodes and chapters. Pedestrians, shops and shopkeepers, neighbours, food, celebrations, smell and texture of the streets make up the intricacies, and feature of Shanghai and its outskirts becomes apparent, almost palpable, giving glimpse into Chinese culture and lifestyle.

When Fu Ping goes to live at her uncle's home not far from Shanghai just after when her departure from Shanghai has been preset, everything changes. While Fu Ping is excited about finally finding her true ties, Nainai is tensed all the more. This shift brings light on the lives of people in the suburbs of Shanghai, where Fu Ping's uncle—who works on a scow—has settled together with his family among boatmen. Here, while she relishes her company with a new friend with whom she can go on private excursions, her aunt has a different scheme on her head, unknown to the story Fu ping (who is unexpressive of her status) has left behind in Shanghai. In this sequence of events, the richer world of Opera House draws in clue into the cultural organization of the people and very soon Fu Ping, changed in her persona, returns to Shanghai again where she meets her to-be-husband, Li Tianhua. Her dubious attitude and intentions, her quandary, shy-laden and sometimes even provoking remarks is found throughout . However, like those close to her we cannot presume what's brewing up in her mind though we still can identify her shifting views. The culmination of the novel comes as a surprise when Fu Ping decides something on her own.

Fu Ping connects the story of underclass, working immigrant women with their willingness to freedom of choice and equally captures that forgotten realm of history in all its richness and entirety, transporting readers to feel the streets, rivers, sentiments and lives of those who lived then. Reading this piece from the introduction once again, one realizes the essence of the text: In the chaotic changing of times, normal life remains unchanged, and in normalcy lies a simple harmony, arranged based on the reasonable needs of human nature, producing strength for generations to carry on.

Author: Wang Anyi

Translator: Howard Goldblatt

Publisher: Columbia University Press (Weatherhead Books on Asia)

Page Count: 296pp

Price: $18

Photo Credit: http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html0/people/writers/9/394-1.htm

Review Copy Courtesy: Columbia University Press

Coming Soon...

The Man Who Couldn't Die: The Tale of an Authentic Human Being
by Olga Slavnikova
Translated from the Russian by Marian Schwartz

Laughter in the Dark

Nikolai Nikolaevich

A pickpocket by profession, upon his release from Prison, our titular hero Nikolai Nikolaevich soon finds a job in a science lab via his scientist neighbor, Kimza. From the very beginning, we're acquainted with his obscene language and vulgar slangs, and Nikolai uses them without any shame, almost seamlessly, that not only gives an idiosyncratic character to him but allows him to make 'Soviet-Satire' and humor. Over time, with Kimza's alluring proposal, Nikolai's role changes from being a lab assistant to sperm donor for research (artificial pregnancy and what's more…)¹. In time taking advice from his thief friend, he bargains for high pay and diet for his donation, and for the fair share of alcohol. His ideas are based on the characters and influences from the Soviet rule, and the footnotes give the text more authenticity in this regard.

1.       Their idea was to send my sperm to the Andromeda galaxy in a glass test tube that would be like an impregnated belly. Nine months later, just like that, there’d be little Nikolai Nikolaeviches on planet Andromeda. A hundred or so would be born right away, and they’d fucking well adapt fast to their new surroundings. You don’t believe this could happen?

The story then follows his daily schedule as a sperm donor and his growing love for Vlada Yurevna. Under the policies of Lysenko, who rejected works done in genetics and heredity, and who was fervently supported by Stalin, as expected by Kimza, their lab is cracked down. Nikolai who believes that Morganism is somehow related with morgue and sexing the corpses is convinced that politics has entered their work. Shortly, he is interrogated by authority but he swirls it with wit and ignorance.

Swearing, cursing and denouncing – these can be found aimed at anyone or anything, but most particularly at the conflicting interests of the regime and people. The broader picture of Soviet regime surfaces out as the story progresses – time just before and after Stalin's death. After Stalin's death, the science lab gets reinstated and Nikolai gets his job back but this time he becomes subject for complicated experiments than before, as a puppet in the science quests: one being to track down his brain cell responsible for sexual activity. He takes part in another secret experiment to find pattern on how books are related to his sexual arousals when finally everything is too much for him.²

2.         That's absolutely right! That's it—jacking off! Jack-ing off! Absolutely jacking off. All of Soviet and world science, Kolya, is nothing but jacking off—ninety percent of it! And Marxism-Leninism? It's obvious onanism. Yours at least is harmless. But how much blood has been spilled by Marxism-Leninism—just in its laboratory (that is, in Russia)? An entire oceanful! An ocean! And have we ever produced any beneficial, useful jizz? Not a drop. Everything all around us is jacking off! The Party jerks off. The government engages in onanism. Science is masturbating, and it seems to everyone that, any minute, some crippled Kimza will start yelling: ‘Attention—Orgasm!’ and things will get easier, the bright future will begin. That's Communism. Well, Kolya, you have done your jerking off and goofing off, and now it's time to stop.

In this anti-Soviet satirical work which densely uses Mat (Russian obscene language) and obscenities, the ongoing struggle for scientific achievement and recognition during the period could be inferred at the cost of ordinary people³ distinctive to Soviet regime trying to achieve greatness. Nikolai doesn't realize he's making fun of the time; he just can't get angry about things so makes fun of them instead.⁴ A concoction of science fiction and profane humor, Nikolai Nikolaevich mimics aspects of Soviet Union, that is being in constant watch and threat by the authority.

3.       "It’s hard to tell the difference between killing and giving birth.”

4.       Anyone else wouldn’t even keep his own prison cell in the shape Stalin kept the whole country. He was a real mob boss.” Believe it or not, I had no urge to touch Stalin’s body at the funeral.

For Nikolai, every step, even if that is imagination has dead ends, ending in political obscurities or social misfortune. If we don't mind his language, his mindset is enough to surprise us, which encompass more than just his story. Nikolai is a by-product of the regime whose raw and fragile life could be molded by the users. Talking to his drinking buddy, Nikolai has shared his experience of being used, being happy and then being free. These three tiers are characterized by the changes in the Soviet Union and Nikolai's understanding of the world around. His consciousness is less likely driven by his sexual fantasies then by his cloudy motive to go on living. This impeccable translation has rendered the rightful tone to the text.

Camouflage**

Author: Yuz Aleshkovsky

Translator: Duffield White (edited by Susanne Fusso)

Publisher: Columbia University Press (Russian Library Series)

Author's Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuz_Aleshkovsky

Review Copy Courtesy: Columbia University Press

** Coming Soon

Coming Soon...

A New Divan: A Lyrical Dialogue between East & West
edited by Barbara Schwepcke and Bill Swainson