Dec 01, 2000 buy soul mountain 1st american ed by gao xingjian, mabel lee isbn. The elusive lingshan soul mountain becomes the object of his quest. He was also renowned as a stage director and as an artist. Gao xingjians novel, soul mountain, is about a similar wandering. We can only speculate that he was drawn to the soul mountain in the hope of finding some spiritual enlightening and the meaning of his own existence. The premise is straightforward but xingjian s approach tends to bring out the best and worst.
Click to read more about soul mountain by gao xingjian. Soul mountain by gao xingjian abebooks passion for books. In 1983, chinese playwright, critic, fiction writer, and painter gao xingjian was diagnosed with lung cancer and faced i. Lin zhaohuas production of gao xingjians of mountains and seas is the first time in more than two decades that a mainland chinese cast.
Mar 11, 2011 listen to soul mountain audiobook by gao xingjian. His prose works tend to be less celebrated in china but. Nobody big except me is the dream world of holden caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab english of the precollegiate. Buy soul mountain 1st american ed by gao xingjian, mabel lee isbn. In addition to soul mountain and one mans bible, a book of his plays, the other shore, and a volume of his paintings, return to painting, have been published in. Facing time on a prison farm for defying his countrys laws of cultural conformity, nobel prizewinning artistwriter gao xingjian embarked on an epic search for his roots and for freedom. Fragmented and ambiguous in plot and narration, xingjians book does not.
In 1983 chinese playwright, critic, fiction writer, and painter gao xingjian pronounced gow. The novel is a part autobiographical, part fictional account of a mans journey to find the fabled mountain lingshan. Gao xingjian, author of soul mountain, on librarything. Part travel diary, part philosophy, part love story, soul mountain is an elegant, unforgettable novel that journeys deep into the heart of modernday china. Soul mountain by xingjian gao a chinese man goes on a journey of self discovery in the distant regions of contemplating the disparaging effects of the cultural revolution. Soul mountain gao xingjian paperback harpercollins publishers. Listen to thousands of best sellers and new releases on your iphone, ipad, or android. Facing time on a prison farm for defying his countrys laws of cultural conformity, artistwriter gao xingjian embarked on an epic searc. Soul mountain is not a linear novel that can be rushed through or read diagonally. In 1982 chinese playwright, novelist and artist gao xingjian was diagnosed with lung cancer, the very disease that had killed his father. I found myself continually following his images in my mind, ending up far away from the printed page, back in my own wanderings alone in china. He is also a noted translator, screenwriter, stage director, and a celebrated painter.
Dec 10, 2000 a violent surfacing of adolescence which has little in common with tarkingtons earlier, broadly comic, seventeen has a compulsive impact. Gao xingjian is an artistic innovator, in both the visual arts and literature. It is about a man, an intellectual, a writer, an anthropologist, whose mission is to collect folk culture all around him. Soul mountain has 2 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. Buy the paperback book soul mountain by gao xingjian at indigo. He is that rare multitalented artist who excels as novelist, playwright, essayist, director, and painter. The result of this epic voyage of discovery is soul mountain. Oct 23, 2001 faced with a repressive cultural environment and the threat of a spell in a prison farm, gao fled beijing and began a journey of 15,000 kilometers into the remote mountains and ancient forests of sichuan in southwest china. Soul mountain audiobook by gao xingjian rakuten kobo. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Soul mountain is a quirky, thick, playful monster of a book, a bit like what one. Oct 01, 2010 soul mountain chinese edition gao, xingjian on.
Theater at hong kong festival, a nobel laureate returns. Gao xingjian paints in ink and has had some thirty international exhibitions and provides the cover illustrations for his own books. Hes primarily a playwright, but hes written a couple of novels, and soul mountain was mentioned by the nobel committee as his magnum opus and the primary cause for the award. In soul mountain, author gao xingjian defies all conventional rules of fiction and. In 1983 chinese playwright, critic, fiction writer, and painter gao xingjian pronounced gow shingjen was diagnosed with lung cancer and faced imminent death. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. The narrator explores rural villages and reflects on the influence that the cultural revolution has had. This book is the 1733rd greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. Meetings with friends or strangers, attempts at conversation, lines of poetry. Start a free 30day trial today and get your first audiobook free. This page contains details about the fiction book soul mountain by xingjian gao published in 1990.
Soul mountain is an incredible epic that benefits from an author capable of describing the sound of a river at night with a great sense of poetry. Gao xingjian whose name is pronounced gow shingjen is the first chinese recipient of the nobel prize in literature. Gao xingjian, chinese emigre novelist, playwright, and critic who in 2000 was awarded the nobel prize for literature for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity. In 1983, chinese playwright, critic, fiction writer, and painter gao. A big, partly autobiographical novel by gao xingjian, this years nobel. The recipient of the 2000 nobel prize in literature, he is also a noted translator particularly of samuel beckett and eugene ionesco, screenwriter, stage director, and a celebrated painter.
Read soul mountain by gao xingjian available from rakuten kobo. Soul mountain by gao xingjian and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Soul mountain by gao xingjian goodreads share book. This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Firstly though is a detailed look at soul mountain by chinas first winner of the nobel prize for literature, gao xingjian. It is from this peculiar and cleareyed position that a journey begins through the remote mountains of china. Digital rights management drm the publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to install free software in order to unlock and read it. It is a thoughtful, slow moving novel which opens many doors for an eager western reader. The soul mountain lingshan continues to elude gao, and the closest thing he ever got to is the soul rock lingyan where women burn incense when they want to have sons. The novel is loosely based on the authors own journey into rural china, which was inspired by a false diagnosis of. Faced with a repressive cultural environment and the threat of a spell in a prison farm, gao fled beijing and began a journey of 15,000 kilometers into the remote mountains and ancient forests of sichuan in southwest china. The mountains of sichuan served as the inspiration for the novel.
Gao xingjian discussed his novel soul mountain, published by harpercollins, for which he was the first recipient to receive the nobel prize in literature for writing in chinese. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. In reality, he just wanders around, traveling wherever fate sends him. This first edition, signed by xingjian gao is available at bauman rare books. The novel is loosely based on the authors own journey into rural china, which was inspired by a false diagnosis of lung cancer.
Gao xingjian books list of books by author gao xingjian. Gao xingjian is the first, and only, chinese author to win the nobel prize for literature, which he won in 2000. His journey through southern chinas ancient mountain. Unlike many other readers, i could not detect any deep moral or religious questioning on the part of the author, nor is there a spiritual awakening in this book. Gao xingjian is a chineseborn novelist, playwright, critic, and painter. Gao xingjian born january 4, 1940 is a chinese emigre novelist, playwright, and critic who in 2000 was awarded the nobel prize for literature for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity. Gao xingjian is a chinese emigre novelist, playwright, and critic who in 2000 was awarded the nobel prize for literature for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity.
An emigre to france since 1987, gao was granted french citizenship in 1997. For six weeks gao inhabited a transcendental state of imminent death, treating himself to the finest foods he could afford while spending time reading in an old graveyard in the beijing suburbs. To mark chinese new year, our literary correspondent delves into a thoughtful chinese novel western readers can enjoy. Browse audiobooks written by gao xingjian sorted by best. Soul mountain by gao xingjian, mabel lee, paperback. Listen to soul mountain by gao xingjian available from rakuten kobo. Buy soul mountain by professor gao xingjian online at alibris. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.