Next Tuesday (June 29) Chun Shu will be giving a talk at the Trends Lounge in Beijing about her new book, Light Year American Dream, as part of the Trends Lounge's Cosmo Women's Reading Salon series.
Time: June 29 (Tuesday), 7-9pm
Venue: Trends Lounge, 2F The Place (世贸天地), Beijing
Phone: 010 6587 1999
Comments
Missed this! Anyone know how it went! Always interested in Chun Sue, for whatever reason...
Alice, July 1, 2010, 4:25p.m.
I have been waiting half a decade for something new from her, but I expect I'll have to keep waiting: it seems Light Year American Dream will only been published in Chinese (so far); there is absolutely no information about it in English. Also, isn't her named commonly spelled Sue rather than Shu?
Tom Carter, July 17, 2010, 7:44a.m.
Tom, I believe it is written as Chun Sue. I haven't read Light Year American Dream yet, and don't really know what to expect. I have to say though that Beijing Doll, in Chinese, was exceptionally moving for me, perhaps because of its setting, or because of the idea of rebellion at a young age.
Alice , July 17, 2010, 8:25a.m.
@Tom
I haven't read Light Year American Dream, nor am I likely to.
It's hard to imagine that she has much to say, to be honest. The invite to her recent talk was full of pretentious babble about the author, and a few years back I translated a bland excerpt from the book she penned after Beijing Doll, called Hong Haizi (红孩子).
I told the agent that I couldn't see why they were promoting it or her. Since the reading public seemed to have been titillated by her earlier revelations (a younger Shanghai Baby based in Beijing, basically, brought to the West via Professor Goldblatt's rendition), ¡notoriety that put her on the cover of Time!, she believed that we needed to know the details of her life as a middle-schooler, too. Or perhaps her editor did, anyway.
But who knows? Maybe she has written something more meaningful this time around. In the meantime, you might want to ask a friend to buy this week's SMW (南都周刊，Nándū zhōukān)for you. There's a feature article on Chun Shu (now an "internationalist," apparently) and her new book.
Bruce Humes
Chinese Books, English ReviewsBruce, July 17, 2010, 11:49p.m.
A copy of the SMW article is here. I liked this bit about what she thinks is the difference between the youth of the US and the youth of China:
“与中国最大的不同是美国年轻人乐观，身上完全没有过去的束缚和阴影，中国青年太沉重，背负了五千年的压抑，太TMD丢人了”。她用愤怒的口吻谈起中国的80后遭遇过的东西：哪怕心里没有了为中华崛起而读书，但仍有为家庭奋斗，心里时时想到父母说的“你要争气啊”……与中国80后相比，美国年轻人家庭压力很小，而且“美国本身就在世界中心，中国假装是世界的中心！”
I don't think becoming 'internationalist' would do much for her literature, or at least her literature as I now know it. Once I've read the book, I'd be able to share more thoughts...
Alice, July 21, 2010, 10:12a.m.