"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
A destination chosen arbitrarily, at the suggestion of a fellow traveller, the elusive Lingshan becomes rich with meaning for the narrator of Soul Mountain. Meanwhile, the narrator himself shows a tendency to go forth and multiply. First he divides into You and I. Then You generates yet a third voice, a somewhat simple but intense young woman named She, followed by He--and none of these personae can resist the elemental lure of the sacred site. Indeed, the search for Lingshan becomes a metaphor for all spiritual striving:
Would it be better to go along the main road? It will take longer travelling by the main road? After making some detours you will understand in your heart? Once you understand in your heart you will find it as soon as you look for it? The important thing is to be sincere of heart? If your heart is sincere then your wish will be granted?
Along the way, I and You mourn the devastations of the Cultural Revolution, when thousands of monuments, temples, and graves were reduced to rubble. The obliteration of these reminders of the dead becomes a torment to the narrators of the novel, who struggle to assert their individuality--itself a proscribed act in Communist China--against what they see as a false and brutal ideal that has swept away history, literature, and tradition as decisively as it has destroyed the ancient forests. (At one point Gao describes the sad spectacle of the few remaining pandas, who wander a shrinking woodland wearing electronic transmitters.) Seamlessly translated by the Australian scholar Mabel Lee, Soul Mountain is a masterpiece of self-observation set against a soulful denunciation of "progress" and practicality. --Regina Marler
'Gao has helped illuminate the human condition for people throughout the world in ways that bring credit to him and to literary endeavour.' THES
'There is a sense throughout that Gao is running after things that are already vanishing. On the nature reserves, people are shooting bears and even pandas; trees are being cut down a hundred times faster than before. Stones inscribed with historical inscriptions have been dynamited to yield materials for bridges that were never built... Soul Mountain is Gao's attempt to bring back what is lost. In the end, his gift is to look beyond politics at the human condition, offering no easy explanations and refusing artificial allegiances.' Sunday Times
‘Gao transcends cultural barriers. A good story will out in any language, and when Gao is good he is staggeringly so. His writing about the Cultural Revolution is remarkable.' Daily Telegraph
'A picaresque novel on an epic scale... Soul Mountain bristles with narratives in miniature – stories from ancient Chinese history, folk tales, childhood reminiscences, memories of the Cultural Revolution, as well as bitter arguments and passionate sex. Gao's aim is to represent "the ineffability of life", and, as far as that is possible to do, he has done it in this complex, rich and strange novel.' Independent on Sunday
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 3.04
Within U.S.A.
Book Description paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_371804763
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. 561 pages. Cover worn. Text tannedLoosely autobiographical ac count of renowned Chinese writer Gao Xinjian travels through the forests of central China and along the Chang River. The journey a llows the author to examine and explore modern-day Chinese societ y and philosophy. Author is a Nobel Literature prize winning Chin ese novelist and playwright who was a political refugee during th e Cultural Revolution. He currently resides in France. Translated by Australian-born Chinese academic Mabel Lee who is a Honorary Professor in Chinese Studies with the University of Sydney. Seller Inventory # 2746ai
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fair. Loosely autobiographical account of renowned Chinese writer Gao Xinjian travels through the forests of central China and along the Chang River. The journey allows the author to examine and explore modern-day Chinese society and philosophy. Author is a Nobel Literature prize winning Chinese novelist and playwright who was a political refugee during the Cultural Revolution. He currently resides in France. Translated by Australian-born Chinese academic Mabel Lee who is a Honorary Professor in Chinese Studies with the University of Sydney. 561 pages. Seller Inventory # 1445201
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Reprint. 561 pages. Book is in Very good condition throughout. Seller Inventory # 204914
Book Description Trade Paperback. Condition: Good. Reprint. Size: Octavo (standard book size). 561 pages. Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. Pages lightly tanned throughout. The book has been read and carries some marks and creases. This book is available and ready to be shipped. In 1983, Chinese playwright, critic, fiction writer, and painter Gao Xingjian was diagnosed with lung cancer and faced imminent death. But six weeks later, a second examination revealed there was no cancer--he had won "a second reprieve from death." Faced with a repressive cultural environment and the threat of a spell in a prison farm, Gao fled Beijing and began a journey of 15,000 kilometers into the remote mountains and ancient forests of Sichuan in southwest China. The result of this epic voyage of discovery is Soul Mountain. Bold, lyrical, and prodigious, Soul Moutain probes the human soul with an uncommon directness and candor and delights in the freedom of the imagination to expand the notion of the individual self. Gao Xingjian won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2000. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilogram. Category: Family & Relationships; China; literature, Literary, Poetry & Drama. ISBN: 073226779x. ISBN/EAN: 9780732267797. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 7513. Seller Inventory # 7513
Book Description Paperback. Breakthrough novel by the winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Literature. Soul Mountain is a picaresque novel of immense wisdom and sparse beauty, bursting with knowledge and experience and portraying a culture as vast and fascinating as the history of humankind itself. In China in the early eighties, the novel's central character embarks on a journey cross-country in search of the mysterious Soul Mountain. Along the way he collects stories, lovers, spiritual wisdom and undergoes myriad experiences that are sometimes violent, sometimes frightening, sometimes funny, but always enriching. He researches the origins of humankind and Chinese culture, and explores philosophical issues such as truth, knowledge and how one's childhood affects later life. At the end of the book, he realises that all along what was important was not finding the elusive Soul Mountain, but rather the journey itself. Soul Mountain is part love story, part fable, part philosophical treatise and part travel journal â  and is one of the most challenging, rewarding and inventive works of fiction since Ulysses. This is a used book in good condition, meaning that it shows signs of wear but has no major defects.Most of our images are sourced automatically, so the book cover shown might be different to the edition we have in stock. Seller Inventory # 18072710