/ Reviews
Latest from the Literary Festival
by Monica Liau
on Friday, March 12, 2010 12:00 AM
Yes ladies and gentlemen, you have heard correctly. Peter Hessler, the author who gave many their first intimate look into China with his portrayal of a small town along the Yangtze, has canceled his keynote appearance in this year's Shanghai Literary Festival. While Hessler and his wife cite "personal reasons," rumors are swirling as to the reason why he's a no-show both here and in his beloved Beijing. Some say the great Hessler was having visa issues, courtesy of the upcoming Expo and a few not-so-flattering sections of his new book, Country Driving: A Journey through China from Farm to Factory. This seems unlikely, as Hessler's cancelations run far wider than little Shanghai. In fact, Hessler is a no-show for his talk in Missouri, USA, so we mustn't feel too slighted.
Stepping in like the champion he is, Paul French will be filling the keynote gap. This historian, columnist, philosopher and man-about-town will attempt to deliver a titillating tale of the Shanghai underbelly, featuring - who else? The debauched foreigners of course. In describing his talk, entitled The Down and Dirty Secrets of Seedy Shanghai and Perverted Peking, French says that the "foreigners were mad, bad and depraved on a scale few can imagine." The question that many might wonder is: has our reputation among the Chinese really gotten any better since then? However, French insists that his tales of "notorious luxury bordellos" and "sexual-sadist cults" are really quite shocking. Hey, maybe we can pick up a few tips from our ancestors.
Aside from French's depravity, there are plenty other events with which to wet your intellectual whistle.
Perhaps most notable will be Su Tong's talk on the "intersection between inspiration, memory and childhood." Su is one of the kings of the Chinese literary scene and has published hundreds of short stories and novellas. Perhaps best known by English speakers for his work Wives and Concubines, which was later adapted into the movie Raise the Red Lantern, Su was a major voice in the avant garde that dominated the cultural period between the mid-1980s and the 1990s. His writing is dark, complex and intoxicating, and his most recent work - a surrealistic tale entitled Boat to Redemption - was awarded the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009. Su's talk, which is to be moderated by Didi Kirsten Tatlow with interpretation by Tina Chou, runs from 5-6pm and costs the standard RMB65.
