06.08.2005 Raise the Red Lantern By Su Tong Literary Fiction (c) 1990 268 pages

Tong's Raise the Red Lantern is a collection of three novellas -- the title story, "Nineteen Thirty-four Escapes," and "Opium Family." All are set in 1930's provincial China and all are stories of people shaped and eventually doomed by their fates. The movie Raise the Red Lantern, directed by Zhang Yimou, is my all-time favorite, so getting the book it was based off of was the next logical step.

The main discrepancy between the novella "Raise the Red Lantern" (originally called "Wives and Concubines") and the movie, is that lanterns are not a prevalent theme in the novella. The character of Lotus/Songlian is also much different. In the movie, Songlian is intelligent and elegant; in the book, Lotus is a bit more spoiled and less graceful, though still a pensive person. The "Raise the Red Lantern" novella has the most interesting plot -- it reminded me a lot of "A Streetcar Named Desire" -- and it was, not surprisingly, my favorite of the three. (And although the novella was more candid and thus more realistic, I think the movie did a better job of capturing emotion and was easier to emotionally invest in.)

"Nineteen Thirty-Four Escapes" appeared to be the most personal story of the bunch, with the author even referring to himself by name. However, the main idea of the story is very similar to "Opium Family" -- a chronicle of events leading to a family's demise in the town of Maple Village. All the stories have an enduring sentiment of fatalism -- the characters cannot rise above their circumstances, essentially trapped by the time, the place, and the actions of those who came before them. In other words, they're all depressing and leave you with a sense of emptiness. Though the plots are rich, the novellas feel more introspective, relying more on feelings than events. This gives the stories a sense of disengagement, and made it hard to hold onto something concrete after reading them. But for those who are interested in Chinese literature or, like me, enjoyed the movie, it's worth the read.

3.5/5 STARS

FAVORITE AMAZON REVIEW by Aaron William Moore
I have never read this translation, so I cannot speak to its quality, but the original Chinese novella "Wives and Concubines" is absolutely marvelous. As one reviewer here noted, it is quite different than Zhang Yimou's film. To me, the most noticeable difference was that the sexual candidness of Su Tong's narrative was (likely forcibly) replaced by Zhang with the foot massage motif, which is sometimes a little silly. The protagonist's sexual repression/obsession is much more understandable if you read the novella. The movie is still watchable--actually, more so--after the book, because the film was forced to avoid direct discussion of certain issues via mainland censors who find it distasteful (or too close to home?). Anyway, the Chinese version is rich with south-central Chinese stylistic grandeur, and absolutely salivating. You will find Su Tong's understanding of patriarchy much more interesting and nuanced than Zhang's. Su Tong is definitely the primus inter pares of the 80s generation.

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