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Page 26 American Book Review Flash Fiction East Myfanway Collins The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories: Flash Fiction from Contemporary China Edited and Translated by Shouhua Qi Stone Bridge Press http://www.stonebridge.com 348 pages; paper, $16.95 Flash fiction is a form new to many Americans —not so for the Chinese.According to Shouhua Qi, translator and editor of The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories: Flash Fiction from Contemporary China, flash fiction in China dates back to the “Warring States period (AD 220–63).” Such longevity doesn’t mean flash fiction is a thing of the past for the Chinese—quite the contrary. According to Qi, “Taking root in China’s fertile native cultural soil and drawing nourishment from influences inside and outside China, flash fiction has matured as a literary form.” And so it is that the fiction within this book dates from the early part of the twentieth century to the present day and runs the gamut of human experience , all set within the still mysterious boundaries of China. This is the first translation in anthology form I have read, and I am not sure an anthology is the type of book that lends itself well to translation. Typically, what I gather from an anthology is a range of voices, a grouping of textures: a patchwork quilt of stories. As there is only one translator for this book, the stories within this anthology read as though they came from one voice, one writer. I struggled to find the individuals within and was left with this one voice. This is not to say the voice is a bad voice. Rather that it was unexpected and dulled the experience for this reader. Perhaps with future such anthologies, multiple translators could be used to provide the missing texture and nuance found here. Leaving voice behind, there is still much to recommend this book: reading these stories one is witness to a world outside the Western perspective, a world which for so many years was kept only to itself. In that, then, these stories are utterly alive and breathing, offering the reader insight and connection. The stories are inventively and appropriately grouped under six headings: “Relationships,” “Family,” “Portraits ,” “Society,” “Truth and Art,” “Existential Moments ,” and “The Strange and Extraordinary.” Each section begins with the oldest story in the group. Flash fiction is a form new to many Americans—not so for the Chinese. For this reader, the oldest story in each group was the stand out. They were stronger in action and more inventive in form, with fresher ideas and structure than the newer stories, which tended to follow a similar pattern of ending with a twist or punch line, a style out of vogue in the US flash fiction world. In short, the older stories were more similar to what I’ve come to expect and enjoy from reading flash fiction written in the West. With that said, there are stand outs within this anthology—stories that rise above and offer the reader a view of a not-so-distant land. One such story is Cao Naiqian’s “Nest of Oats Stalks,” which begins oddly and splendidly: “All is quiet under the sky. The bright Moon Granny shone on the threshing ground. On the side of the oats stalks stack facing Moon Granny he made a nest for her and himself.” The story of unrequited love that follows is nearly nonsensical but touching nonetheless, and we are shown, once again, how human beings share similar desires no matter where they live—a desire to love and be loved. Another stand-out story is Wang Renshu’s “Blowfish” about a man who tries to end the suffering of his starving family by feeding them poisonous blowfish. While the language and story are simple, the emotions are complex, and the reader is able to fully grasp the suffering of this man and his family. Finally, there is the excruciatingly beautiful story “Light” by Wang Luyan in which a child begs his mother to let him die. When she refuses, he enters his mother’s body and places his heart back with her heart, leaving him empty once he returns. It’s...

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