Chinese

Jian, Ma. (2005/2004). Noodle maker, The. Trans. from Chinese by Flora Drew. London: Vintage (London: Chatto & Windus).

Okay, so I thought - from the marketing - that this story was going to be primarily a conversation between writer ""Comrade Sheng"" (p. 9) and blood donor Vlazerim (p. 6) about the focus of Sheng's book. Once I got to "The Swooner" (pp. 19-40) I was disappointed that, instead of a novel, I had a collection of short stories. After I started reading "The Suicide or The Actress" (pp. 41-68) I guessed that death might be the stories' overarching theme.

Well, you know the rule: Three strikes, you're out. What that means is I have no idea what this book is other than seemingly random stories thrown in together. On the other hand, if Jian's point was a destable narrative that collapses on itself, okay, he succeeds with that.

Like, with "The Swooner" (pp. 19-40), Sheng - who's responsible for most of the stories, Jian being the writer behind the writer - begins intruding in the narratives (pp. 25, 35, 71-72, 80-81, 85-88, 105-108, 114-115, 118, 129, 141, 148-149, 151, 153, 167, 177-179), later sharing intrusions with Vlazerim (pp. 63-68, 107-139, 141, 145, 155-156). However, it's not always clear when it's Sheng's thoughts or those of the person he's writing about (pp. 34, 44-45, 49-50, 54, 61-62, 69, 79, 85, 89, 92, 103, 110-111, 114-116, 130, 134, 142, 152, 158).

Some of Sheng's stories also share repeating motifs regarding women. For example, in "The Swooner" (pp. 19-40) and "The Suicide or The Actress" (pp. 41-68), women willingly kill themselves (pp. 34-38; pp. 41, 44, 52-53, 56, 58-63). And, in "The Possessor or The Possessed" (pp. 69-108), "The Carefree Hound or The Witness" (pp. 149-179), and "Let the Mirror Be the Judge or Naked" (pp. 129-140), women are assaulted (pp. 88-91, 97-100; pp. 155-158; p. 140).

Sheng reveals, too - in "The Suicide or The Actress" (pp. 41-68) - that he and Vlazerim were Su Yun's (p. 41) lovers (pp. 64-67); more, Su Yun's painter appears again in "The Carefree Hound or The Witness" (see description of dog, pp. 43, 151). In "The Possessor or The Possessed" - the only one of Sheng's stories with a first person POV - (pp. 69-108) Sheng confesses that he fucked the editor's wife (p. 106, cf p. 86). Is Jian suggesting that the painter is Sheng?

But, because I previously read Mikhail Bulgakov (2009/1968)'s The Heart of a Dog, I also recognized his dog Sharik (p. 11)/Poligraph Poligraphovic Sharikov (pp. 77-78) in "The Possessor or The Possessed" (Jian, 2005/2004). Not only do both dogs speak, but they also read and similarly talk to other people about their respective societies (Bulgakov, 2009/1968, pp. 60-67, 69, 71-80, 82-88, 90-97, 100-104, 112, 114-119, 122, 126; Jian, 2005/2004, pp. 151-152, 154-162, 164-170, 171-176).[1] So I got a kick out of that kickback - thanks, Ma Jian!

Still, even the most unstable narrative should be pulled along on a string, however thin it might be. If there was one in Jian (2005/2004)'s The Noodle Maker, I missed it completely.

[1] This happens in Bulgakov (2009/1968) only after Sharik's surgery (see pp. 58-69). In Jian (2005/2004), Sheng suggests reincarnation for the painter's dog (pp. 151-152); however, it's also possible the painter's delusional, but...

References

Bulgakov, M. (2009/1968). Heart of a dog, The. Trans. from Russian by M. Glenny. Intro. by A. Kurkov. London: Vintage (Great Britain: The Harvell P).