Yu Chen

I've really been drawn to anthologies this year, especially ones that have translated works. So this one seemed right up my alley. Fortunately, this ended up being one of my favorite anthologies, too!

I also love the design of the book itself, especially the inner book design. It's thoughtful and beautiful, and it looks like a work of art.

The anthology contains twenty-two works of fantasy and sci-fi by female or non-binary Chinese (sometimes Chinese-American) authors. On paper that seems like show more a pretty specific and niche category, but in reality it encompasses a lot of people and contains a lot of stories. And a whole lot of creativity. These stories have never before been published in English, and therefore the collection is a treasure trove.

Many of these stories I would categorize as being less focused on plot/action and more on concept or characterization. Some of them were very "cozy," although some of them (like my favorite) were devastating. (And ONE of them was devastating in a truly terrible, ableist way, but I won't name names.)

In between a few of the fiction entries there are small essays about translation as an art itself, which were fascinating. Sometimes I enjoyed those more than the stories (especially "Is There Such a Thing As Feminine Quietness? A Cognitive Linguistics Perspective" by Emily Xuieni Jin)!

Highlights for me include
- "Baby, I Love You" by Zhao Haihong
- "A Brief History of Beinakan Disasters As Told in a Sinitic Language" by Nian Yu
- "Is There Such a Thing As Feminine Quietness? A Cognitive Linguistics Perspective" by Emily Xuieni Jin
- Dragonslaying by Shen Yingying

I would 100% by this collection. I'm going to search out many of these authors and either read their other works that are translated into English or eagerly hope and anticipate for their works to be translated. There are lots of talent in here. show less

These stories and essays are mostly more serviceable than excellent, and for all that the authors are women and non-binary, not overtly, overwhelmingly, feminist or feminine in tone - which may be one of the points, that writing not done by men is still writing not feminine writing. Whether intrinsic to the stories as written, or an artifact of translations, there is often a self-consciousness in their subversion. A couple of them are startling, a couple of more very interesting in show more themselves, most are peculiar viewed with western gaze and leave a sense of non-shared context even as the included essays pointedly announce the accommodations for our lack. show less

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-way-spring-arrives-and-other-stories-eds-yu-...

This is a collection of seventeen stories by female and non-binary Chinese writers, and five essays about translation and writing, recommended to me by Regina Kanyu Wang, one of the editors; it was a good recommendation. My favourite of the fiction is the title story, by Wang Nuonuo, translated by Rebecca F. Kuang, which looks at divine intervention in the seasonal cycle. There’s also a great riff on Douglas show more Adams intersecting with Ming China, “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai-Chi Mashed Taro”, by Anna Wu, translated by Carmen Yiling Yan.

I learned something from each of the non-fiction pieces, and the most interesting was the second last, “Net Novels and the “She Era”: How Internet Novels opened the door for Female Readers and Writers in China”, by Xueting Christine Ni, looking at how the digital era has eroded traditional publishing barriers in one particular case; it’s not difficult to see how this can apply to other fields of information as well.

All good stuff. show less

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories is an anthology of Chinese fantasy and science fiction by female and non-binary authors and translated into English. There are seventeen short stories as well as five critical essays on Chinese science fiction. The title story is more fantasy than science fiction. It creates a new mythology driven by love and longing that is beautiful despite the demands the mythology places on its conductors of the seasons.

“To Procure Jade” is another lovely show more story, one with a bit of a twist that would delight H. H. Munro. On the other hand, “Dragonslaying” was the grimmest, most horrific fantasy story I have read in a long time. But in counter-balance, “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe” was a comic delight.

I loved The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories and did not want it to end. Every story was so different. It is a testament to the skill of the translators not one story came off as stiff or formalistic. There is an ease to the language that only comes from skilled translation. The editors did a good job of bringing together a collection that is on one hand is strictly classified by who can be included while on the other exuberantly diverse in subject and style. If, like me, you are a short story lover, this is a must read.

I received an ARC of The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories at Tor Books | Macmillan
Yu Chen
Gina Kanyu Wang

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2022/06/20/the-way-spring-arrives-an... show less