Son of Silence (On Contemporary Fiction)

Author: (English) Wood, translated by Gu Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: For most readers in mainland China, contemporary Western fiction is undoubtedly a relatively unfamiliar field. The lack of information, unfamiliarity with the language, and cultural differences all create a certain degree of separation between readers in mainland China and contemporary Western fiction. Michael Wood's Children of Silence interprets contemporary Western fiction from the perspective of Western cultural thought, which should be considered the legitimate approach to research. Michael Wood has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker and The London Review of Books for many years. His agile mind and ability to navigate different literary and linguistic landscapes have made him renowned in the field of literary and cultural criticism. He wanders through the vast forest of contemporary novels, sifting through the noise to reveal the "silence" behind—contemporary Western fiction is the "children of silence." The book is divided into three main parts, in addition to the introduction and conclusion: "Novel Map," "Other Ages," and "Stories and Silence." Based on an integration of contemporary Western literature, Wood discusses 11 writers, from Toni Morrison to Samuel Beckett, from Gabriel García Márquez to Kazuo Ishiguro. On this basis, he proposes that the interest in contemporary literature has shifted from the novel to the story—that "stories have made a comeback, and often appear within novels—even replacing them," but the difference between stories and novels lies in that "stories are less demanding than novels, more open to diversity, and less insistent on filtering memories from fantasy." In other words, the story characteristic of contemporary novels is the "silence" that does not offer advice; the concept of paradise—the joy brought by the enjoyment of artistic works—still exists; and the novel itself also carries the function of literary criticism, and so on.
In general, this book has the following two main features. Original insights. When discussing Beckett's drama, people generally associate it with his mid-20th-century creation, which reflects the emotions and inner experiences that shrouded the Western world after the war, and the futility and meaninglessness of life are his central themes. Beckett's works lack clear logic, passionate emotions, or witty language, instead substituting illogical, fragmented nonsense. The situations of his characters seem to be everywhere yet nowhere. Based on a detailed interpretation of the works, the author points out, "For Samuel Beckett, the comedy of intelligence is the comedy of ignorance. It records two things: First, we desperately want to know things we cannot know—that is, things we do not know and may never be able to know; second, when the above effort shows no success, we want to know the vast range of things we do not know." Beckett tells us how little we actually know.
Furthermore, taking Toni Morrison as an example, in a society that claims "all women are white women, all blacks are men," the novels written by African American women about African American women are sidelined because they are considered insignificant "women" and unworthy "blacks." Choosing Morrison as one of the research subjects demonstrates the author's broad perspective and intellectual depth. Toni Morrison's entry into the literary world is generally seen as a model of feminist deconstruction of the sacred authority of the narrator. In Beloved, the novel incorporates a ghost world, allowing the ghost of Beloved to be reborn, which serves as the main plot. This should be considered natural, otherwise the story would be suspect. All those ghosts that white people do not believe in are victims of racial discrimination, "every household in this area, from top to bottom, is filled with the cries of black martyrs," which is an inevitable result of the brutal hegemony imposed by the West. It is generally believed that it depicts the universal evil of slavery. However, Wood argues that Beloved is about "pain and the necessity of remembering and forgetting pain," and "we cannot correct what is twisted, but we can move beyond it and leave it behind." In other words, pain is primarily a product of the mind, and if we can move beyond the mind, we should also leave pain behind. "For Morrison, the mind may always be our friend, but it is often our enemy—for example, in Beloved, we can see this."
Literature is about humanity, and ideology should not always be its theme. Perhaps literature itself is a container for "peaks" and "hills." Who can deny that the centrifugal force of history will scatter fragments of truth into every corner? If history can be accidental, why not the meaning of literature? Humor. Wood's humor is a bit sharp and unrelenting, but humor is always welcome. In the chapter on Modernism and the Romance of Postmodernism, he first says, "Modernism is mainly a strange and troubled quarrel with time and history," because "modernists are uneasy with the present, they try to reject the past closest to the present, as well as the linear time leading to this past; they prefer to use distant pasts as models and arguments." This leads to the object he wants to discuss—"it prompts us to rethink the history of Latin America, and the result is that we activate a more attractive and dynamic present, and break free from the cage of complacency." This shows the style of Wood's language. He also likes the kind of humor that takes a turn for the better. For example, in the chapter on The Wind Blows, he discusses Stephen King. To prove that he is already a "household name," the author quotes the British writer Clive Barker: "Clearly, every American household has two books—one is the Bible, and the other is probably the work of Stephen King." Since he has used someone else's words to support his point, he should honestly accept them, but he adds, "I don't know what Barker's basis for saying this is, but I doubt the Bible." At this point, you cannot help but experience the thrill of reading and the relief and pleasure that come after escaping danger.
It is worth mentioning that this book differs from the stereotypical academic approach of citing references and "quoting sources" to ensure "safe publication." Instead, it emphasizes personal insights based on firsthand reading and often shines with the brilliance of intellectual inspiration. Even if you are not a professional researcher, as long as you love literature, you can appreciate the shock and joy literature brings. In short, this is a model work worthy of reading for those interested in researching contemporary Western fiction.