Written on Water [Hardcover]

Eileen Chang (Author), Nicole Huang (Editor), Andrew F. Jones (Translator)

List Price:	CDN$ 76.47
Price:	CDN$ 72.18 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save:	CDN$ 4.29 (6%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Usually ships within 1 to 3 weeks.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Formats	Amazon Price		New from	Used from
Hardcover	CDN $72.18		--	--
Paperback	--		--	--

Product Details

Hardcover: 218 pages
Publisher: Columbia University Press (March 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0231131380
ISBN-13: 978-0231131384
Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 1.7 x 0.2 cm
Shipping Weight: 431 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,680,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

From Booklist

Chang (1920-95) was one of China's most popular female writers, and this is the first English translation of her 1945 collection of essays on topics ranging from fashion to music, painting, theater, and film. Chang is determined not to take herself too seriously; her irony is reminiscent of that of James Thurber, and, in fact, she sounds as though she's writing for the New Yorker. Whether confronting the trials of apartment dwelling or commenting on the somnambulant approach of university students in wartime China, Chang captures the subtleties of the urban experience, pointedly from a woman's perspective, and the trivialities of daily endeavors during the Japanese occupation, with humor and insight. Her disarming wit, combined with a down-to-earth tone, makes Chang great company, and brings back to life the city of Shanghai during a difficult time in its long history. Janet St. John
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

[Chang's] obsession with privacy made her known as the 'Garbo of Chinese letters,' and photographs reveal a woman whose elegance and contemplative introspection justify that title. Nevertheless, from out of the frenzy of renown that surrounded her, the sheer quality of Chang's prose emerges clearly, and her voice-raw, low, exquisitely modulated-has a sound like none other in the canon of Chinese, or for that matter, American prose stylists. Boston Review Original, memorable and unlike anything else that has come from the era. A fine contribution to Chinese letters in translation. -- *Starred review* Kirkus Reviews 2/1/05 It is the warmth and sophistication of her observations that fix her in literature. One settles in almost immediately for a chat that could last a lifetime. -- Susan Salter Reynolds Los Angeles Times 4/17/05 Chang captures the subtleties of the urban experience, pointedly from a woman's perspective, and the trivialities of daily endeavors during the Japanese occupation, with humor and insight. Booklist 4/15/05 Invariably, Chang catches the moment and crystallizes the experience; with her preferred "forthright simplicity" and whimsical line drawings, she knows how to beguile her readers. -- Peter Skinner ForeWord Magazine 7/1/05 In these joyfully self-absorbed essays she anticipated the New Journalism...They combine timeless girlishness with utterly fresh feminism. Ms. 7/1/05 The complex feelings that she reveals when talking about the arts contrast with her depictions of her own life, and help the reader to understand the mind of a woman trying to come to terms with her life through her passions. Bust 8/1/05 Chang's self-effacing, mannered prose and power for observing visual designs and social manners shine when she writes of fashion, the family, her past, and film and drama. Choice 10/1/05 Chinese Communist Correctness has long since receded, changing Eileen Chang's writing from being a guilty pleasure to simply a pleasure. -- Lucas Klein Rain Taxi Fall 2005 Always perceptive, imaginative, outspoken, and capable of the most sensitive empathy and sympathy. -- David E. Pollard Renditions #64 2005 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Product Description

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Share your experience with this product with others

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 3.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Side of Eileen Chang, Jun 29 2010

By Frederik Green "FG" - Published on Amazon.com

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Written on Water (Paperback)

I have to disagree with the two previous reviewers. These essays are simply wonderful -- sensuous, vivid, maybe trivial, but for a reason. Chang was writing in Shanghai during the time of the Japanese occupation, when censorship made it impossible to be political. Thus her focus on the everyday, the quotidian, the little pleasures and hardships of life. These essays, some of which are very personal, provide a wonderful backdrop to some of her fiction. Also, they present a picture of war-time Shanghai that does not quite match the image presented in history books. I loved every one of these essays and recommend this anthology to anybody interested in Eileen Chang, modern China, Shanghai or urban modernity.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Written on Water, July 19 2008

By Alice - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Written on Water (Paperback)

I have read several books written by Eileen Chiang which I've enjoyed but this is not an easy book to understand. I believed it to be taken from her point of view on life in general. I will have to re-read it one day as I did not finish it.

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Trivial rubbish, Oct 15 2008

By Dewdrop - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Written on Water (Paperback)

I was absolutely disappointed by this book. I've read Eileen Chang's major novels and short stories and found her fiction extremely insightful. I expected similar quality from her essays and assumed that I would be getting wise quirky essays in the tradition of Linyu Tang.
Unfortunately these essays are nothing more than badly written commercial rubbish that she churned out for popular magazines. None of them show the slightest thought or insight, and they aren't even well written. In fact, writing trivial articles about the history of dress collars while Shanghai was under cruel Japanese occupation even seems morally questionable.
There is a good introduction by the translator/editor, which provides some useful context and argues for the significance of these essays. And to the historian interested in daily life of the period, the contents might have some interest. In general, however, these minor writings are nothing more than commercial ephemera. The translation of this collection can only do harm to the reputation of one of modern China's great fiction writers.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars