Appunti esame Letteratura inglese, prof. Deandrea, libro consigliato I am china, Guo

I am China - Xiaolu Guo

Iona's translation journey

Iona is an English translator, 30 years old. In April 2013, she was instructed to translate letters and diaries of two Chinese lovers, Jian and Mu, from Chinese to English. The photocopies she receives are not numbered, so she initially translates them without following a chronological order. Jonathan, her editor, explains to Iona how he found the documents: during a conference in Beijing on Russian literature, a woman called Mu gave him these documents and asked him to deliver them to Amnesty International. During the translation, Iona understands what led Jian to move away from China: he was a dissident who, through his manifestos, reported the internal corruption of the Chinese Communist Party.

Jian's family background

Jian’s father is the Prime Minister! The novel also deals with the relationship between Jian and his father: a nasty man who had left Jian and his mother to form a new family.

Jian and Mu

Jian and Mu met at the university; she studied Letters, he studied History. She likes poetry, while he likes punk music. Although they love each other, they have different opinions about many things; for example, Jian cannot live without political commitment, and, according to him, everything must be sacrificed for it. According to Jian, art, politics, and love are connected, but Mu has a different opinion. These discordances are leading to the end of their love story. The first problems arise from the manifestos against the communist party that Jian writes because Mu is not interested in politics. The couple had separated for a short time in 2006 because of the death of their child.

Iona

Who is Iona? Iona was born in Scotland and has always had a difficult relationship with her parents; in fact, she does not often visit them. Iona knows two modes of expression: sex and words. Iona is not married, she has no children, but she has occasional sexual relationships with men known online. She also has eating disorders. During the translation of Jian and Mu’s documents, a change occurs, because she understands that their love is true love and that a life without love does not make her happy.

Day by day, Iona is passionate about the story of the two characters and she wants to know more; she wants to know what happened to Jian. From his last letter, she understands that he is in Crete, so she decides to go there in November 2013, but she does not find him. Iona discovers that he committed suicide. Meanwhile, Jonathan informs Iona that the Chinese government does not want the translation to be published! Mu, who is in London, writes to Iona asking her to attend one of her performances. Two years later, Iona’s translation is published.

Jian's letters

Through the first letters of Jian, dated January 2012, Iona understands that...