Elsewhere: 'Wonderful writing' Sarah Hall

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The linked entries in Yan Ge’s deft English-language debut, Elsewhere, explore the power of language across the Chinese diaspora to either bring people together or push them apart.” — The New York Times the stories are bold and experimental. It achieves a perfect balance of western and eastern culture, mixing the two perfectly. Strange Beasts of China feels like a riddle and a parable and a dream, the kind of book you want to get lost in.”

Publishing Director Angus Cargill has bought UK & Commonwealth rights to a collection of short stories and a novel by Yan Ge from Matt Turner at RCW in an exclusive submission. North American rights were then pre-empted by Rebekah Jett at Scribner. Juxtaposed with this bodily disgust is an intense, heady investment in literary tradition. The plots of two stories hinge on, respectively, a poem by the great Tang dynasty poet Li Bai and George Orwell’s essay Shooting an Elephant. Others are soaked with references to the Zhuangzi, a Daoist masterpiece; one story, Free Wandering, is nearly unintelligible if you aren’t paying attention to the quotations from the ancient essay of the same name. These stories map out the distance between head and gut – the way language can fail to convey the deepest facts of life When Pigeon’s mother reflects on the question, she is in bed dying, one month remaining before her sojourn on this planet ends. It gains more poignancy from that. The time when social fictions no longer hold meaning. We are reduced to humans in bodies of skin and bone and not some compartment in which our physical features or language place us.Yeah, definitely. I suppose we have a word for it now: micro-aggression. When people are shouting ‘ni hao’ to me, it’s a way of flagging you out as an alien,” Ge says. Positives: The feeling of disconnect was appealing. The feeling of being ‘not quite right” or “not quite there” is one that I sometimes feel in my own life, and I see others move through that mindset as well, so reading stories about disconnected people was interesting and reaffirming, that the natural state for people is to not have a natural state. The visceral quality of the stories in “Elsewhere” is another notable aspect. Characters often find themselves in states of discomfort, with instances of vomiting and references to eating meat taking on a horrifying resonance. This adds intensity to the narratives, allowing readers to vividly experience the physical and emotional struggles faced by the characters. Cargill, who published Yan Ge’s short story ‘How I Fell in Love with the well-Documented Life of Alexander Whelan’ in 2019’s Being Various: New Irish Short Stories , edited by Lucy Caldwell, describes Yan’s collection, Elsewhere – scheduled for publication in Spring 2023 – as ‘unforgettable: made up of wild, exciting, disturbing stories about dispossession and ideas of home and identity. Set between contemporary Ireland and ancient China, Yan effortlessly takes you as the reader wherever she goes, between cultures and genres. Hotel Destination , the novel to follow, promises to be even wilder – a deep dive into the world of tomorrow, and where we might be heading. Think Under the Skin , Earthlings , and The Lobster .’

Elsewhere” is not simply a novel about a specific time and place; it transcends these boundaries to explore universal themes of family, love, and the search for meaning. Ge’s prose is both lyrical and raw, evoking a wide range of emotions as readers journey alongside her characters. The narrative structure, presented through interconnected vignettes, allows for a deeper introspection into the complexities of human existence. But Elsewhere distinguishes itself not just by being in the author’s second language: it is an exceptionally varied collection. Settings for the stories range from contemporary Dublin to historic China, with one story (Travelling in the Summertime) set in the 11th century and another – the novella Hai that ends the book – featuring the politics around the succession of the fifth-century BC philosopher Confucius. The book is experimental too, with playful narratives nestling next to formal prose and autobiographical fiction. My favourite short story was How I Fell in Love with the Well-Documented Life of Alex Whelan. It felt good to have at least one favourite story in this book. It is a story of a woman living in Ireland and being obsessed with a young man she met briefly before he died. I like the story that shows how we can curate one's image that develops due to social media. I felt exceptionally connected to the protagonist and understood why she acted like that. A short story collection can be a great vehicle for showcasing different styles and forms, and so it is with Yan Ge’s Elsewhere, the English-language debut from an award-winning Chinese writer whose work has been published in a number of Irish literary journals and anthologies. Born in Sichuan, Ge lived in Ireland for a number of years but is currently based in Norwich, where she completed an MFA at the University of East Anglia and was the recipient of the UEA International Award 2018/2019. Other accolades to date include the Mao Dun Literature Prize and being named by People’s Literature magazine as one of 20 future literature masters in China.Through the eyes of protagonist Li Jiaqi, readers are transported to the fictional town of Shuanglang, where they witness the impact of social and economic transformations on ordinary lives. Ge’s vivid descriptions of the picturesque landscapes of Yunnan Province bring the setting to life, immersing readers in a world that straddles the boundaries of time and place. The community medical center,” Small Bamboo said. “Sister Du heard a new batch of volunteers arrived from Xi’an, so we called over.” In Ireland her son was born and then they moved to Norwich in 2018, where Ge still lives. I ask her about the story Shooting an Elephant, where a Chinese woman, Shanshan, gets annoyed by Dubliners shouting “ni hao” (Chinese for “hello”) at her in the street, or asking her to read their Chinese tattoos. Did these things happen to Ge in Ireland?

The overall effect of Yan’s storytelling is dreamy and hypnotic, sometimes opaque but always captivating. These cryptic but well-told tales offer much to chew on.” I really, really like Yan Ge’s writing, and some of the stories in ‘Elsewhere’ were genuinely very, very good, but it’s hard not to consider this a bit of an underwhelming collection from someone I consider to be an exceedingly capable author. Too many of the stories, while not entirely unmemorable, were too uninteresting for me, and Yan Ge’s skill with prose was doing the entirety of the heavy lifting for a lot of these stories. I remember having some issues with the writing in ‘Strange Beasts of China’ and it’s nice to see that this was likely due to the translation element. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that she wrote ‘Elsewhere’ in English herself, and in it, her writing feels more polished than ever before, while still retaining its natural awkwardness and oddity that makes it so unique. But the idea of blended identities runs through Ge’s book that we’re meeting to discuss. Elsewhere is the best sort of debut – one that isn’t the author’s first book. Ge has been a successful author of literary fiction in Chinese since her first book was published in 2003 when she was still a teenager. She makes a living from it. “It’s kind of like a miracle,” she says. Elsewhere, a deeply eclectic collection of stories, is the first book she has written in English. And it’s this affinity with the periphery that is brought to life in Yan Ge’s short story collection Elsewhere.

Yan Ge introduces her debut English-language collection Elsewhere, a group of short stories hopping from Dublin to colonial-era Burma to ancient China

As always, I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to have an early read by netgalley.com and Scribner Books. The opinions in this review are expressly those of ButIDigressBookClub and are intended for use by my followers and friends when choosing their next book. #butidigress #butidigressbookclub #elsewhere #netgalley #scribnerbooks @scribnerbooks Elsewhere” by Yan Ge is a collection of stories that captivates readers with its jangly and eclectic narratives. The book explores the relationship between language and understanding, showcasing the power of words to evoke emotions and experiences beyond comprehension. With its cosmopolitan settings and visceral quality, “Elsewhere” pushes the boundaries of storytelling and establishes Yan Ge as a talented and versatile writer.

While Old Stone was busy cooking in the kitchen with Calm—Young Li’s wife—and Sister Du helping out, we talked about him. Apparently, after his girlfriend died, Old Stone immersed himself in the study of how to make the perfect twice-cooked pork. From there, taking it dish by dish, he had become a chef and a reputable food critic. He’d published three books: Love and Lust in Sichuan Cuisine, The Pepper Corn Empire, and The Night We Ate Armadillos. The last one was a collection of poems. It feels very much like a dream come true to have found a publisher in Faber, the perfect home for Elsewhere and Hotel Destination . The first book I read after moving to Ireland in 2015 was published by Faber and throughout the years, numerous Faber books have inspired and nurtured me. I couldn’t be more excited to be working with Angus Cargill and his wonderful colleagues at Faber to bring my new fiction into the world.’ This subtle but brilliant collection will draw readers in and keep them enchanted until the very last word." — BooklistYan Ge explores human connections and disruptions in this ethereal collection…Yan combines dry and subtle humor with her evocative lyrical style. These stories brim with intelligence.” —Publisher’s Weekly The seventh, "How I Fell In Love With...", is a story of a 27yo Chinese-born woman living in Ireland, struggling to reconcile her life with herself, and starting to obsess with a young man she met briefly, just before he passes away. The story could he interesting, as far as it touches upon the issues of what is a person and how much of it can one learn from social media. However, the overlay of self wallowing victimhood expressed by the protagonist just leaves a bad aftertaste, making the story difficult to like. The first story, "A Little House", is about a group of Chinese 20 somethings (probably?), who interact and live in the aftermath of the 2008 earthquake in China. Not super clear what happened, or what the point of the story is. A heady mix of despondence (from the narrator) and blasé attitude (from many of her friends). A story, perhaps, of what modern 20-somethings in China think and feel, and how absolutely the same it is as anywhere else in the world. Yan Ge commented: ‘I have been writing in Chinese for eighteen years, and it took me a long time searching to find my voice in a new literary language. The stories in Elsewhere include a polyphony of voices, anti-dualistic propositions and characters whose identities are constantly in flux – this sense of perpetual displacement is what I want to continue to explore and celebrate in my fiction. In twenty years, Yan Ge has authored thirteen books written in Chinese, working across an impressive range of genres and subjects. Now, Yan Ge transposes her dynamic storytelling onto another linguistic landscape. The result is a collection humming with her trademark wit and style—and with the electricity of a seasoned artist flexing her virtuosity with a new medium.