John Balcom

"Short Stories in Chinese: New Penguin Parallel Text," translated by John Balcom, presents Chinese text on the left hand pages and the accompanying English translation on the right. I do not read Chinese, and I had no intention of studying the original Chinese text here. I do, however, regularly read and enjoy Chinese fiction in translation.

There are many brilliant Chinese authors, both overseas and in the mainland. I had never read any of the authors in this collection.

Unlike many novels in translation, there are no obvious political statements in these stories. There are no long allegories or social criticisms. They are simple, prosaic stories. In one story, a high school student from a small town tries to acquire a pencil case. In another story, a family deals with a great-grandmother. In another story, a young woman visits a town and learns about their customs. I had difficulty following one story that had a jumping timeline.

I appreciated Balcom's introduction, which included brief biographies of each author.… (more)