English (novel)
English (Chinese: 英格力士; pinyin: Yīng Gé Lìshì) is a 2004 Chinese coming-of-age novel by Wang Gang, about a boy growing up during the Cultural Revolution in remote Ürümqi, home to many political exiles including the boy's intellectual parents. English has been translated into English and many other languages.
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Author | Wang Gang |
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Translator | Martin Merz, Jane Weizhen Pan |
Country | China |
Language | Chinese |
Set in | Ürümqi, 1970s |
Wang Gang wrote a sequel in 2012, titled Kashgar (喀什噶尔), which follows the protagonist in his late teens.
The Chinese language title is a phonetic way of representing the word "English" in Chinese for a student of English who is just starting their studies.[1]
Characters
- Love Liu (刘爱, Liu Ai), the protagonist
- Sunrise Huang (黄旭升, Huang Xusheng), Love's classmate
- Garbage Li (李垃圾), real name Li Jianming (李建明), Love's classmate
- Second Prize Wang (王亚军, Wang Yajun), Love's English teacher from Shanghai
- Ania Spyra of Butler University describes him as having "all-too-Western gentlemanly manners, cologne and luxurious clothes" and which therefore makes other people living in Ürümqi feel afraid.[1]
- Ahjitai (阿吉泰), Love's teacher, who is of mixed Han Chinese and Uyghur ancestry[1]
- Love Liu's father
- Love Liu's mother
- Sunrise Huang's father
- Sunrise Huang's mother
- Principal
- Commander Shen
- Director Fan
Reception
Kirkus Reviews described the work as "a telling, appreciably non-Western narrative enriched by politics and poetry."[2]
Spyra wrote that the decision of the English version to render major character names as translations instead of transliterations " lends the book an aura of an allegory, in the vein of Everyman or The Pilgrim’s Progress", and that the ending "surprises us".[1] She praised the characters for being "fully rounded, vulnerable, and believable."[1]
Adaptation
A film adaptation directed by Joan Chen is currently in post-production.[3]
References
- Spyra, Ania. "Book review: 'English' + 'Foreign Words'". 91st Meridian. University of Iowa. 8 (1). Retrieved 2023-06-24.
- "ENGLISH". Kirkus Reviews. 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
- "陈冲执导文艺片《英格力士》杀青" (in Chinese). 2017-10-25.
External links
- Humes, Bruce. "Book Review: "English" by Wang Gang, or Growing up Han in Fictional Xinjiang". Personal Website of Bruce Humes. Archived from the original on 2014-11-30. - Contains an interview with the translators, Martin Merz and Jane Weizhen Pan