Oak Hotel

Author: Xu Kun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Breaking taboos through irony creates a sense of pleasure when reading Xu Kun's novels. In many of her fictional texts, the portrayal of "sex" is either veiled or overt, but at its core, it is either a reverence or a taboo surrounding "sex," making people avert their gaze at the mention of it. However, Xu Kun vulgarizes it, discusses it casually, and mocks it casually. She both dissolves the lingering tenderness of the delicate woman and deconstructs the mystery and secrecy of "sex." What we read is not pornography but deconstruction and subversion—an alternative narrative of culture, education, and knowledge structures hidden under traditional moral veils, as well as the release of repressed psychology. This mode of expression allows Xu Kun to shed both the pedantic and the fussy, emerging as a uniquely charming writer.
The protagonists in Xu Kun's novels are almost always part of the trendy crowd, with most of them being women. They are often white-collar professionals who live quite freely, setting the pace for the urban lifestyle and fashion of the late 1990s. This is a rising group that brings a sense of novelty to reading. First, there are the "angry youth" (or "fengqing"), as Xu Kun calls them—the acronym for "angry youth." I find this explanation unsatisfactory—these carefree young people who only know how to enjoy the moment could possibly feel "anger," a deeply emotional pain? "Fervent" or "radical disapproval" would be better. They defy tradition, carry little moral burden, sneer at people and things in society, and live life on their own terms. The women in Beijing Never Sleeps and Comrade Lover are particularly representative. Their youthful fashion gives a powerful shock to the previously stale living space, revealing bursts of dazzling brightness in a sea of gray. These trendy individuals set the pace for urban lifestyle and consumer trends, not only making young people envious but also dizzying middle-aged and even elderly readers.
Next, there are the "affair-having group." This group is mostly middle-aged white-collar women who work in dull government agencies, universities, or research institutions. They have a husband (often just a symbol, a sign of being a married woman) and no children. These women have achieved some success in their careers but grow weary of monotonous daily life, yearning for excitement and ripples in the mundane. Thus, they engage in extramarital affairs. This is also a perennially popular theme in both Chinese and foreign literature, not only stirring the female protagonist but also enticing readers. The Oak Hotel is particularly representative. It is an indicator of a psychological state of those trapped in a routine, yearning for new life supplements—a state of restlessness, unease, pursuit, and the release of wild life. This is Xu Kun's most familiar and frequently depicted group.
There is also a category called the "internet junkies." In the 1990s in China, going online was a very hot topic, and "Are you online?" became a common greeting among friends. Xu Kun also wrote about the "internet junkies" in her works, though the number of pieces is limited, it shows her attention to this trend. Representative works include Beijing Never Sleeps. For the many "internet novices" and "amateurs," Xu Kun uses her relatively fluent internet slang to narrate the latest happenings online. It can be said that Xu Kun's novels have almost no typical characters—what we see are archetypes of urban intellectual women. They are radiant, intelligent, and a little mischievous. They differ from the serious and rigid intellectual women in traditional novels who are solely devoted to work, as well as from the narcissistic and self-abusive women trapped in the vortex of female self-identity. They are a new generation of charming and lovable women who lead the trends of the era. Xu Kun brings them forward, one by one, dazzlingly, setting a unique landscape in the contemporary literary world.