Soul Mountain

Rating:
Summary: This requires a forgiving attention span.
Review: I'm a pretty avid reader of foreign novels and classics. I love Ha Jin and pretty much all other Chinese authors I've read. I've enjoyed other intricate novels, with twists and turns that don't immediately or ever make sense. This book however, I found too confusing, like reading one of those "choose your-own-ending" books for children all the way through. I often didn't know what was going on, and it made me feel rather stupid. I didn't feel that the well-written and emotive prose was worth the non-existent plot. Plus there were some weird feelings about a female character(s?) that were pretty one-dimensional. Some people may like reading a few pages before figuring out where and when the author is (be it his emotional state now, travelling,etc.), and sometimes that's enjoyable, but I didn't feel comfortable with this book. I wouldn't recommend it, and I wouldn't buy this author again.

Rating:
Summary: A Spiritual Adventure
Review: In Soul Mountain, the protagonist--who actually is the author--takes a long, meandering journey through rural and mountain regions of China. He hopes to recover from disorientation resulting from an incorrect cancer diagnosis and also political persecution of his writing. Along the way the novel explores the many facets of the individual and, to make the reader aware of the divisions within, the protagonist is sometimes referred to as I, he, she, it or they. These serve as handles to access distinct aspects of the psyche.

Imaginitive storytelling presents these facets as a series of vignettes: both today and (as represented by remote societies steeped in traditions of the past) in earlier times. The creativity and haunting quality of these stories transport the reader to another place--one floating halfway between the anchored, modern world and the ethereal, spiritual one. It is in this domain, over many pages, that the author wrestles with his conceptions and perceptions of love, folly, wealth, crime, intrigue, drama, society and life.

The audacity and raw imagination woven into this novel are powerful. They encourage a review of your own path such that, upon descent from the mountain and return to society, the world retains a tragic and beautiful nature that one can experience but not hold.

Rating:
Summary: Experimental literature - the experiment is too long!
Review: As another rather sharp reviewer (A. Ross) has written, this very long book can be merely classified as strictly futuristic EXPERIMENTAL literature. It has no concise central plot, it cannot be told in so many words and it has no point except that of prolonging an unending story in the guise of philosophy ... But what is the essence of this philosophy - I am unable to tell. The writing is vague, bland and unexciting, the events or happenings are forgettable and the book is by and large very unsatisfying. My guess is that had the author not received a Nobel prize the book would have been added to the gigantic heap of published and largely unread fiction. Since he has received a Nobel prize it is no wonder that many ambitious, tolerant and/or eager readers, with lots of free time to spend, have purchased the book and have read it or, perhaps, claim to have read it. I must admit that as a rule I respect Nobel prize winners and at times make an effort to read them (Boell, Garcia, Kertesz etc.) However with Xingjian's mountain of a book I wrestled for a week or two and then put it down after 60 or 70 very dull pages. Unsurprisingly, in view of the above the majority of published reviews must originate with extremely patient, tolerant and undemanding fellow men and women readers who after investing much time and labor would rather praise the book than put it down. But I tend to hold the opinion that the large majority of those who tried to read Soul Mountain abided by the dictum of John Witherspoon (1723-94): "Never read a book through merely because you have begun it". And my guess is that these latter usually refrain from writing reviews... Perhaps, I am an exception...




Rating:
Summary: Different.
Review: ...But just because it is different doesn't necessarily mean it's good. There is a thin line between revolutionary fiction (as the author describes his work, in his own novel) and absolute crap. While it may be harsh to say it is the latter, it's certainly very far from the former. It seemed more like a personal diary than a cohesive novel. Dense reading? I agree it was difficult read but you surely do not have to go any slower while reading the book because seriously, you won't be missing much if you didn't. You could pretty much skip pages and pages, and even chapters, of random insignificant encounters and countless dull descriptions of the environments without losing anything if you read every page.

Different? Yes. Revolutionary, I strongly disagree.

Rating:
Summary: interesting if you're going to China
Review: Despite the fact that Chinese readers decry the quality of the translation this book is very useful if you're planning a trip to China. The book is a good introduction to the rich texture of Chinese folklore that lies underneath what a Western tourist might experience.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: This book is unlike any novel I've ever read and I wondered, even after looking over some reviews on this site if I would like it. I was worried it was too different. Well, I tried it and ended up loving it. The book is packed with stories that many people could identify with in their personal struggles as well as including stories that so completely Chinese. The cultural, ethnic and political struggles people go through in that country are heartbreaking. The polictical system is so oppressive and fails to show a human face to its people. It moved me quite a bit and I'm very glad I attempted reading it. It was enthralling and a pleasure to read, not difficult at all.

Rating:
Summary: Expression of human life
Review: Gao Xingjian's novel is a masterpiece.It manifests the essential truth about human life-We cannot live in solitude,we are mortal human beings who can never live in estrangement.We need the world with all its amneties, entertainments.