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A review by spyralnode
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Mostly an autobiographical journey, 'Soul Mountain' is a meditative tale told through the steps within Chinese nature in Szechuan. The main protagonist has recently found out that he was misdiagnosed as having lung cancer, and would now like to explore his surroundings and document the folk songs, myths and legends from his region.
The writing was beautiful, especially at the beginning of the book I was really taken by the descriptions of forests, mountains and villages in the middle of nowhere. It is lyrical, but not to the point that you'd think it was over the top. An interesting choice was that the recurring characters don't have names, we have an 'I', a 'you' and a 'she', occasionally also a 'he'. The narrator explains the second person later on in the book, and it was as a I suspected, but still an original choice that got me thinking.
The reason why I wasn't entranced by 'Soul Mountain' until the very end was the disconnection of various fragments. Because we follow a trip and the narrator means many people along the way, each with their own stories, it ends up feeling more like a loosely blended collection of short stories. And naturally some are more compelling than others. Most of the stories are based on local myths and legends, yet there are also parts where the narrator considers the importance of family, love, coming back to one's hometown, being in nature versus an urban environment, to name a few.
But there was one thing that irked me. All the women that appeared are described in relation to a man. Whether it's a crush, a father, a husband or a brother, they are depicted as dependent and weak. There is even character where it's strongly hinted that she's lesbian, and she is also described in relation to various men in her life. I am aware this is something specific for the time of the story, but it didn't sit well with me how much focus this was given.
It was an interesting book, it gave me an escapism through being in the Szechuan mountains, but I just couldn't get into the flow of it.
The writing was beautiful, especially at the beginning of the book I was really taken by the descriptions of forests, mountains and villages in the middle of nowhere. It is lyrical, but not to the point that you'd think it was over the top. An interesting choice was that the recurring characters don't have names, we have an 'I', a 'you' and a 'she', occasionally also a 'he'. The narrator explains the second person later on in the book, and it was as a I suspected, but still an original choice that got me thinking.
The reason why I wasn't entranced by 'Soul Mountain' until the very end was the disconnection of various fragments. Because we follow a trip and the narrator means many people along the way, each with their own stories, it ends up feeling more like a loosely blended collection of short stories. And naturally some are more compelling than others. Most of the stories are based on local myths and legends, yet there are also parts where the narrator considers the importance of family, love, coming back to one's hometown, being in nature versus an urban environment, to name a few.
But there was one thing that irked me. All the women that appeared are described in relation to a man. Whether it's a crush, a father, a husband or a brother, they are depicted as dependent and weak. There is even character where it's strongly hinted that she's lesbian, and she is also described in relation to various men in her life. I am aware this is something specific for the time of the story, but it didn't sit well with me how much focus this was given.
It was an interesting book, it gave me an escapism through being in the Szechuan mountains, but I just couldn't get into the flow of it.