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dalhausen's review against another edition
4.0
The Explosion Chronicles is based on the development of the village of Explosion to a provincial-level metropolis in contemporary China. The book's chapters are titled "Geographical Transformation 1," "Revolutionary Biographies," "Assessment of the New Era," and the like, and is meant to read as the sensationalized but factual history that will popularly recount the story of Explosion's decades of success and growth.
We meet the families Kong and Zhu at the outset of the book. Kong Mingliang, Mingguang, Mingyao, and Minghui are driven from their beds in the middle of the night in their teenage years at the demand of a ubiquitous dream dreamt by their parents, and each take a different route into the city to find their destiny. The first object that they encounter will determine their course in life. Mingliang encounters Zhu Ying and a ballot slip, and deciphers his fate as his eventual running for village leader, rather than choosing to interpret (or accept) the girl before him as his future. Zhu Ying, for her part, decides that she will be as successful as possible in order to bring Mingliang to his knees before her (she means this literally), and the battle between them to lead the village of Explosion to the forefront of the directive for economic advancement in the early 80's begins. With the help of Zhu Ying, who sees Kong Mingliang as her future husband and professional nemesis, he becomes village leader, and through a series of hyperbolic events, the Explosion's transformation becomes their central goal and the driving force that distorts the Kong and Zhu family in peculiar ways.
The essential pieces to grasp for the reasoning, the symbolism, and what is seemingly magical realism on overdrive, are best and quite explicitly described in the Author's Note at the back of the book. I wouldn't say that it would be unwise to read this before reading the book necessarily, but for times when the story seems to lag a bit because it keeps a steady pace of fantastically mundane events throughout, it may be prudent to flip back there, take a peek at the author's intent, and then go back to the story.
That being said, I feel that his intent to write a novel that is told in the mythorealist style, which we come to interpret as the psychology behind modern China, was brilliantly executed. Through the readings that I've done on China in the 21st century, some events are so completely absurd and almost unbelievably ridiculous (but uniformly accepted by the majority of the population, and supported and enacted with complete faith and diligence) that at a certain point, it makes sense why one idea begets a bizarre action; you simply believe, and it is so. The author argues that the idea of mythorealism isn't a "because of this, that" but something more akin to an unspoken radical acceptance of the nature of things, one that makes little sense if analyzed circumstantially.
"Mythorealism, meanwhile, captures a hidden internal logic contained in china's reality. It explodes reality, such that contemporary China's absurdity, chaos, and disorder- together with non-reaslism and illogicality- all become easily comprehensible."
As a great fan of magical realism, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new spin on a well loved method of storytelling. Even more so, I recommend this as a necessary new piece of Chinese literature that presents a groundbreaking style which cannot be ignored.
We meet the families Kong and Zhu at the outset of the book. Kong Mingliang, Mingguang, Mingyao, and Minghui are driven from their beds in the middle of the night in their teenage years at the demand of a ubiquitous dream dreamt by their parents, and each take a different route into the city to find their destiny. The first object that they encounter will determine their course in life. Mingliang encounters Zhu Ying and a ballot slip, and deciphers his fate as his eventual running for village leader, rather than choosing to interpret (or accept) the girl before him as his future. Zhu Ying, for her part, decides that she will be as successful as possible in order to bring Mingliang to his knees before her (she means this literally), and the battle between them to lead the village of Explosion to the forefront of the directive for economic advancement in the early 80's begins. With the help of Zhu Ying, who sees Kong Mingliang as her future husband and professional nemesis, he becomes village leader, and through a series of hyperbolic events, the Explosion's transformation becomes their central goal and the driving force that distorts the Kong and Zhu family in peculiar ways.
The essential pieces to grasp for the reasoning, the symbolism, and what is seemingly magical realism on overdrive, are best and quite explicitly described in the Author's Note at the back of the book. I wouldn't say that it would be unwise to read this before reading the book necessarily, but for times when the story seems to lag a bit because it keeps a steady pace of fantastically mundane events throughout, it may be prudent to flip back there, take a peek at the author's intent, and then go back to the story.
That being said, I feel that his intent to write a novel that is told in the mythorealist style, which we come to interpret as the psychology behind modern China, was brilliantly executed. Through the readings that I've done on China in the 21st century, some events are so completely absurd and almost unbelievably ridiculous (but uniformly accepted by the majority of the population, and supported and enacted with complete faith and diligence) that at a certain point, it makes sense why one idea begets a bizarre action; you simply believe, and it is so. The author argues that the idea of mythorealism isn't a "because of this, that" but something more akin to an unspoken radical acceptance of the nature of things, one that makes little sense if analyzed circumstantially.
"Mythorealism, meanwhile, captures a hidden internal logic contained in china's reality. It explodes reality, such that contemporary China's absurdity, chaos, and disorder- together with non-reaslism and illogicality- all become easily comprehensible."
As a great fan of magical realism, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new spin on a well loved method of storytelling. Even more so, I recommend this as a necessary new piece of Chinese literature that presents a groundbreaking style which cannot be ignored.
paramrb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dumpling8tang's review
4.0
California Zephyr 上读完的第一本书。被安利了阎连科，推荐了这本炸裂志，中国版[b:百年孤独|12286254|百年孤独|Gabriel García Márquez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461248603l/12286254._SX50_.jpg|3295655]。在读完这本书两个月以后写下了这个review。
一开始就很惊艳于这本书完完全全是按照“志”来写，完整的记录之外，世界观很强，包括了一开始的主笔说和编纂委员会名单，以及结尾的主笔导言。我没读过百年孤独，被传说中的复杂人物关系和相同的名字拦在门外。但这本书情节依然魔幻，背景放在了中国也让我感觉十分亲切，更容易接受和理解。
前半部分确实刺激，会推荐！
一开始就很惊艳于这本书完完全全是按照“志”来写，完整的记录之外，世界观很强，包括了一开始的主笔说和编纂委员会名单，以及结尾的主笔导言。我没读过百年孤独，被传说中的复杂人物关系和相同的名字拦在门外。但这本书情节依然魔幻，背景放在了中国也让我感觉十分亲切，更容易接受和理解。
前半部分确实刺激，会推荐！
grauspitz's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand it's a satire about China's urban development that's masterfully done. But in the other hand, because it was satirical I felt that the characters lacked any real depth, even if they were interesting to follow. And as good as it was in the end, it did drag on at points.
Despite the negatives I've given, it's still a book that I would definitely recommend.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand it's a satire about China's urban development that's masterfully done. But in the other hand, because it was satirical I felt that the characters lacked any real depth, even if they were interesting to follow. And as good as it was in the end, it did drag on at points.
Despite the negatives I've given, it's still a book that I would definitely recommend.
ladyonequestion's review against another edition
4.0
A strange, satirical, funny, difficult but rewarding novel chronicling the growth of a tiny village into a megalopolis within the span of fifty years. This is accomplished by scheming, theft and prostition carried out by the Kong family and their associates. The narrative is not that difficult to follow but the author uses allegory and magic realism liberally. I would really like to know more about the satirical elements of how he was using the allegory to express his fears about the growth of modern China as I am not that knowledgeable either about China or Chinese literature. I did, however, think that this was a worthwhile, highly thought provoking novel.
mibramowitz's review against another edition
4.0
This book is microcosmic, magically realistic, and hyperbolic to an extreme. The author really managed to sum up how he felt about China's urban development by writing about a village-turned-city and a family, meant to represent those who would become China's upper crust.
grahamiam's review against another edition
4.0
I interviewed the translator about this book, here: http://blog.pshares.org/index.php/translating-chinas-modern-history-an-interview-with-carlos-rojas/
This was really, really good - I'm surprised how low its rating is here. I think it's interesting how, based on his author's note, he set out to write China's magical realism. I hate how everything alien gets compared to Hundred Years but in this case I think the connection is direct, strong, and the author himself draws a comparison in the author's note.
The dialogue is a little weird - lots of repetition and unusual line breaks and ellipses. Looking forward to asking the translator about this.
This was really, really good - I'm surprised how low its rating is here. I think it's interesting how, based on his author's note, he set out to write China's magical realism. I hate how everything alien gets compared to Hundred Years but in this case I think the connection is direct, strong, and the author himself draws a comparison in the author's note.
The dialogue is a little weird - lots of repetition and unusual line breaks and ellipses. Looking forward to asking the translator about this.
rmtbray's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
2.0
Sprawling family / community novels are hard to write at the best of times (IMO), and whilst I liked the idea of Yan using the historic model of local chronicles, in reality I don't think it really worked. I don't have a problem with unlikeable characters (as they all are), but characters seeming to have no motivation behind their actions means that their horrible actions aren't even remotely understandable. The magical realism seems to at times be standing in for a simple explanation of what may be going on in a character's head, but it didn't work for me.
I don't this my disconnection with this book is entirely the book's fault - not having read any of Yan's earlier work I perhaps didn't have the background that would've helped me to enjoy it. Perhaps something I'll revisit in the future.
Thanks to net galley for the chance to read and honestly review this.
I don't this my disconnection with this book is entirely the book's fault - not having read any of Yan's earlier work I perhaps didn't have the background that would've helped me to enjoy it. Perhaps something I'll revisit in the future.
Thanks to net galley for the chance to read and honestly review this.
arirang's review
3.0
Yan Lianke's The Four Books, originally published in 2009, was, in its English translation,long- and ultimately short-listed for the 2016 Man Booker International prize. I had read it before the prize list and although I saw its merits and was pleased to see it on the longboat, it wouldn't have made by personal shortlist.
In particular the narrative device of the story, apparently told from excerpts from four different books was innovative but the author didn't quite bring it off. And the fantastical nature of the story for me rather diminished the terrible impact of the real-life events underlying the story. See my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1531971348
Now this novel, originally published in 2014, and translated into English again by Carlos Rojas, as The Explosion Chronicles, has made the longlist for the 2017 Man Booker International.
Whereas The Four Books focused on The Great Leap Forward, and the resulting famine, this focuses on a more contemporary topic, China's 21st century explosive economic growth.
The same techniques are used. In this case the narrative form is modelled on the Chinese form of "local gazetteers, regional histories compiled by officials and local gentry" (from the translators helpful introduction), themselves based on the twenty-four official dynastic histories that began in the first century BCE with Sima Qian's Records of the Historian.
And the story, as with The Four Books, is told in a manner that blends the realistic with the fantastic and exaggerated, history with allegory, logic with illogicality.
In an illuminating afterword, the author explains his technique. He highlights two key variations in literary history on the realist novel, absurdity, which he attributes to Kafka (who makes no attempt to explain how Gregor Samsa turned into an insect) and magic realism, pioneered by Gabriela Garcia Marquez (where effects have causes but not necessarily realistic ones) but he argues that the exceptional situation of modern China demands a new third type of literature which he labels Mythorealism.
The economic activity on which the villagers initially achieve their wealth is entirely parasitic. Kong Mingliang encourages them to first simply steal and resell items from the goods trains that travel through the area, while, under Zhu Yong's rival, and equally successful, plan the girls of the town go to work as prostitutes in the neighbouring city, before becoming themselves in charge of "women's vocational training."
Later as the village is first redesignated merely as a town, one of the more successful businesses is a "newspaper processing plant" which simply copies stories from newspapers in the north of China, slightly rewrites them and submits them to newspapers in the south, and vice versa. And the very pollution caused by the rapid economic development itself fuels more growth:
In the end everyone in Explosion stopped farming, though no one was left idle. The various industries and factories made this new own bustle like a pot of boiling water. Every day, the sky was filled with black smoke from the factories' smokestacks, producing a burning stench that you could smell in the air and taste in the water. But everyone in Explosion quickly grew accustomed to this door, so much so that when it was washed away by a rainstorm, the fresh air would leave everyone with a cold. As a result, the hospitals became extremely busy, having more sick patients than the schools had students. With this sudden increase in patients, the town needed its own pharmaceutical factories and medicinal packaging plants, and with this increase in packaging plants there also developed an increased need for tax collection and sanitation services. With the rise in tax collection, the town was even busier than before, and virtually every day there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of a new industry. Later, when Kong Mingliang recalled the initial period of Explosion's growth and development, he told me:
'Those were good times, when you could open a newspaper processing plant with nothing more than some glue and a pair of scissors. I'm afraid China will never see times like those again.'
And indeed as Explosion's size and Kong Mingliang's ambitions grow, the hurdles become higher, the achievements more fantastical, and the sacrifices demanded of the people and of the environment greater. And the line between the history of the area and the present, the real and the fake, becomes blurred:
The entirety of Explosion's past consisted of reality, history, and people's memories.
On account of this tension between history and reality, Explosion's old streets and the new city became divided into two distinct worlds.
[...]
The real pigeons were just like fake ones, and the fake ones were just like real ones, but he found this mixing of reality and imitation to be completely unremarkable.
Ultimately this worked better for me than The Four Books. The framing device was more successful and less interfering (albeit perhaps, the opposite, too understated), and I appreciated more here what Lianke was doing with his Mythorealism, which also seemed more suited to the subject matter (albeit I am not convinced that this is a new development in literature to rank alongside the innovations of Kafka and Garcia Marquez). And the story of the rivalry between the four brothers and the three clans successfully maintains the narrative tension of the story to the end.
For me on the cusp of 3 to 4 stars, and on the cusp of being shortlist worthy - but ultimately not quite making either.
One signature motif in the novel is how nature mirrors the economic developments and moods of the characters, with flowers spontaneously blooming or dying, and fruit trees producing crops in record time. And the novel ends:
Meanwhile, along the bloody path that the Kong family had left behind on their way to the cemetery, there were not only flowers but also all different kinds of trees.
In particular the narrative device of the story, apparently told from excerpts from four different books was innovative but the author didn't quite bring it off. And the fantastical nature of the story for me rather diminished the terrible impact of the real-life events underlying the story. See my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1531971348
Now this novel, originally published in 2014, and translated into English again by Carlos Rojas, as The Explosion Chronicles, has made the longlist for the 2017 Man Booker International.
Whereas The Four Books focused on The Great Leap Forward, and the resulting famine, this focuses on a more contemporary topic, China's 21st century explosive economic growth.
The same techniques are used. In this case the narrative form is modelled on the Chinese form of "local gazetteers, regional histories compiled by officials and local gentry" (from the translators helpful introduction), themselves based on the twenty-four official dynastic histories that began in the first century BCE with Sima Qian's Records of the Historian.
And the story, as with The Four Books, is told in a manner that blends the realistic with the fantastic and exaggerated, history with allegory, logic with illogicality.
In an illuminating afterword, the author explains his technique. He highlights two key variations in literary history on the realist novel, absurdity, which he attributes to Kafka (who makes no attempt to explain how Gregor Samsa turned into an insect) and magic realism, pioneered by Gabriela Garcia Marquez (where effects have causes but not necessarily realistic ones) but he argues that the exceptional situation of modern China demands a new third type of literature which he labels Mythorealism.
"While realism rigorously accords with a set of logical causal correlations, absurdity discards this causality, and magical realism rediscovers reality's underlying causality - though this is not precisely the same causality we find in real life. Mythorealism, meanwhile, captures a hidden internal logic contained within China's reality. It explodes reality, such that contemporary China's absurdity, chaos and disorder - together with non-realism and illogicality - all become easily comprehensible. In the cohoes of today's China, once novels succeed in grasping the wild roots growing under the soil of reality, the significance of reality itself pales in comparison."The Explosion Chronicles tells the story of the rapid transformation over just ten years of the small (a few hundred people) and insignificant Explosion Village into a 20+ million population megalopolis to rival Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo or New York. And the story of the three main clans in the original village, the four sons of Kong Dongde, in particular his second son Kong Mingliang who leads the transformation, Zhu Yong daughter of the village chief he deposed, who marries Kong Mingliang but plots revenge for her father, and Cheng Qing, daughter of the Cheng family, who becomes Kong Mingliang's right hand woman and lover and Zhu Yong's bitter rival.
The economic activity on which the villagers initially achieve their wealth is entirely parasitic. Kong Mingliang encourages them to first simply steal and resell items from the goods trains that travel through the area, while, under Zhu Yong's rival, and equally successful, plan the girls of the town go to work as prostitutes in the neighbouring city, before becoming themselves in charge of "women's vocational training."
Later as the village is first redesignated merely as a town, one of the more successful businesses is a "newspaper processing plant" which simply copies stories from newspapers in the north of China, slightly rewrites them and submits them to newspapers in the south, and vice versa. And the very pollution caused by the rapid economic development itself fuels more growth:
In the end everyone in Explosion stopped farming, though no one was left idle. The various industries and factories made this new own bustle like a pot of boiling water. Every day, the sky was filled with black smoke from the factories' smokestacks, producing a burning stench that you could smell in the air and taste in the water. But everyone in Explosion quickly grew accustomed to this door, so much so that when it was washed away by a rainstorm, the fresh air would leave everyone with a cold. As a result, the hospitals became extremely busy, having more sick patients than the schools had students. With this sudden increase in patients, the town needed its own pharmaceutical factories and medicinal packaging plants, and with this increase in packaging plants there also developed an increased need for tax collection and sanitation services. With the rise in tax collection, the town was even busier than before, and virtually every day there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of a new industry. Later, when Kong Mingliang recalled the initial period of Explosion's growth and development, he told me:
'Those were good times, when you could open a newspaper processing plant with nothing more than some glue and a pair of scissors. I'm afraid China will never see times like those again.'
And indeed as Explosion's size and Kong Mingliang's ambitions grow, the hurdles become higher, the achievements more fantastical, and the sacrifices demanded of the people and of the environment greater. And the line between the history of the area and the present, the real and the fake, becomes blurred:
The entirety of Explosion's past consisted of reality, history, and people's memories.
On account of this tension between history and reality, Explosion's old streets and the new city became divided into two distinct worlds.
[...]
The real pigeons were just like fake ones, and the fake ones were just like real ones, but he found this mixing of reality and imitation to be completely unremarkable.
Ultimately this worked better for me than The Four Books. The framing device was more successful and less interfering (albeit perhaps, the opposite, too understated), and I appreciated more here what Lianke was doing with his Mythorealism, which also seemed more suited to the subject matter (albeit I am not convinced that this is a new development in literature to rank alongside the innovations of Kafka and Garcia Marquez). And the story of the rivalry between the four brothers and the three clans successfully maintains the narrative tension of the story to the end.
For me on the cusp of 3 to 4 stars, and on the cusp of being shortlist worthy - but ultimately not quite making either.
One signature motif in the novel is how nature mirrors the economic developments and moods of the characters, with flowers spontaneously blooming or dying, and fruit trees producing crops in record time. And the novel ends:
Meanwhile, along the bloody path that the Kong family had left behind on their way to the cemetery, there were not only flowers but also all different kinds of trees.
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