DISGRACE By John Maxwell Coetzee ( J.M. Coetzee )

 DISGRACE

By  John Maxwell Coetzee  ( J.M. Coetzee ) 

John Maxwell Coetzee, a renowned South African writer, achieved international acclaim with his book "Disgrace" in 1999, ultimately winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003. Evaluating a book or work of art, particularly a written piece, requires a specific context—a consideration of its historical significance.

"Disgrace,"the evolving landscape of South Africa post-apartheid. The story revolves around David Lurie, a middle-aged university professor specializing in literature and romantic poetry. His journey serves as a conduit for portraying the societal changes in South Africa. From the very first pages, the narrative enthralls the reader, prompting contemplation as it navigates David's unconventional relationship with his student, Melanie Isaac. This ambiguous liaison culminates in scandal within society, leading to his resignation from the university.

The novel delves into intricate themes such as morality's complexities, sin, social norms, power dynamics, race, social responsibility, and ultimately, the notion of embracing acceptance for liberation. Seeking solace and attempting to forget his past, David retreats to his daughter Lucy's farm in the Eastern Cape, only to confront the stark realities prevalent in rural and remote areas. Racial tensions and the intricate power dynamics, manifested within both the colored and white communities, permeate the narrative.

The perpetual concern parents harbor for their adult children's fate and lives remains a central focus. As the tumultuous relationship between father and daughter unfolds amidst life-altering events, David begins reassessing his beliefs and values. His encounters within the village prompt a gradual realization—uncertainties cannot be indefinitely deferred; instead, finding solace lies in acknowledging and accepting the unexpected.

The book directly addresses the moral decline and scandal of an individual, offering a profound insight into the social and political trajectory of a nation in transition. It asserts that when individuals acknowledge their social responsibilities and embrace forgiveness, opportunities for redemption emerge. Coetzee's narrative not only mirrors society but also provides a pathway toward reconciliation, addressing both individual and collective disturbances.

FATELESSNESS BY Imre Kertész'

FATELESSNESS

BY Imre Kertész'

Translated From the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson

FATELESSNESS(Sorstalanság) (1975)

I had the opportunity to introduce another book by a Nobel Prize winner in literature. When discussing a historical event, most of us typically commence by referencing the time. However, it appears to me and many others that it's often the places that possess a more expressive and enduring language to depict historical events. Throughout history, places have served as a more precise representation of events, sufferings, and difficulty of humanity. Forced labor camps like Buchenwald, Zeitz, and Mauthausen and crematoriums such as Auschwitz, mentioned in this book, stand as reminders of a dark chapter in human history.

"FATELESSNESS" by Imre Kertész, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002 and is regarded by many writers as this Hungarian author's finest novel, narrates a terrible event  of world history. This novel also carries elements of a semi-autobiography, expressing the experiences of György Köves, a around 14-year-old Jewish boy from Hungary who left school to support finatialy his family after his father was sent to a concentration camp.

The story's atmosphere is skillfully, clearly, and concisely conveyed. The leading character smoothly navigates the process of humiliation and social expulsion, shedding light on the unforeseen dangers and tribulations faced by a 14-year-old Jew.

During a police search to arrest Jews, Gergi gets off the bus and realizes that his Jewish classmates have already gotten off. After a period of being kept in a stable, thirsty and hungry, they unbelievably find themselves in a concentration camp, and this is how Giorgi becomes one of the narrators of the Holocaust and the events of the concentration camp. The main theme of the story revolves around humanity's effort to survive in the midst of all suffering and shows how people in the depths of despair try to keep the flame of hope burning by relying on their identity, religious beliefs and mental flexibility. Imre Kurtz's book depicts the journey of overcoming physical wounds and mental tensions caused by humiliation and restrictions. The longing to return to Budapest represents hope in the darkness of the camps for Georgi and his fellow prisoners, who seek to preserve themselves and save others with a sense of compassion.

On page 170, we read:

"On the other hand, by the end of the day, I felt that something inside me had broken down irreparably; from then on, every morning, I believed it would be my last awakening; with every step I took, I doubted my ability to take another; with every movement, I felt incapable of giving an order; yet, for the time being, I somehow managed to accomplish it each and every time." - page 170

At the end of the book "FATELESSNESS" the reader returns to the same urban atmosphere of Budapest and the familiar names of the Gyorgy “Gyuri” Koves family. The names and places of Budapest come alive again, similar to the beginning of the book.

Notes from book:

Whatever the reason, it was nevertheless good that this was indeed what happened, and I sensed that it also gratified Father to see them. After that he sent me off to bed. By then I was dead tired anyway. All the same, I thought, at least we were able to send him off to the labor camp, poor man, with memories of a nice day. page 26

... She wanted to know how we felt in regard to our differentness, whether we were proud of it or rather ashamed. page 36

Quite. I too was curious about that; they did not inform us at the brickyard. All they announced was that anyone inclined to do so could present himself for work, specifically in Germany. page 59

Like Uncle Lajos had done once, he too spoke about fate, the fate of the Jews, and he too, like Uncle Lajos, considered that " We have abandoned the Lord," and that explained the tribulation that were being inflicted upon us. page 64

In the strengthening light, on the narrower gable end of the building, facing the direction in which we were traveling, on the surface below the roof, I could in fact make out two words: "Auschwitz- Birkenau " was that I read, written in spiky, curlicued Gothic lettering, joined by one of those wavy double hyphens of theirs. page 76

"Everyone work, no being tired, no being sick!" page 79

What happens to the patients then? "They die." And they dead? "They're burned," We learned. In trust, it slowly became clear that the chimney stack over the way, though I did not catch precisely how, was not actually a tannery but the chimney of a "circumstance," a place where corpses are reduced to ashes, as we were told the word meant. page 108

Then they too had entered the bathroom itself, with the same pipes and showerheads, so I heard, only out of these came, not water, but gas. This did not come to my notice all in one go but piecemeal, each time bringing further details, some disputed, others allowed to stand and added to. all along, I heard, everyone is very civil toward them, swaddling them with solicitude and loving kindness and the children play football and sing, while the place where they are suffocated to death lies in a very picturesque area, with lawns, groves of trees and flower beds, which is why in the end, it all somehow roused in my sense of certain jokes, a kind of student prank. Pages 110&111

Only in the Zeitz did I come to realize that even captivity has its mundane around; indeed, true captivity is actually nothing but a gray mundane around. page 135

All these things, and much else besides, all of it knowledge essential to prison life, I was taught by Bendy Citron, learning by watching and myself striving to emulate. page 137

But neither stubbornness nor prayers nor any form of escape could have freed me from one thing: hunger. I had, naturally, felt - or at least supposed I felt - hunger before, back at home; I had felt hungry at the brickyard, on the train, at Auschwitz, even at Buchenwald, but I had never before had the sensation like this, protractedly, over a long haul, if I may put it that way. page 162

...  and anytime I saw grass I would never hesitate; but then, sad to say, there was not much in the way of grass to be found, either in the factory or within the grounds of the camp. pages 162-3

I would maintain that there are certain concepts which can be fully comprehended only in a concentration camp. A recurrent figure in the dumb storybooks of my childhood, for instance, was that of a certain "itinerant journeyman" or "outlaw" who in order to win the princess's hand enters the King's service, and gladly so, because that amounts to only seven days altogether." but seven days with me means seven years to you, "the King tells him. well, I can say exactly the same about the concentration camps. I would never have believed, for instance, that I could become a decrepit old man so quickly. pages 164-5

I can safely say there is nothing more painful, nothing more disheartening than to track day after day, to record day after day, yet again how much of one has wasted away. I was generally in harmony with my body; I was fond of this bit of machinery, so to say. page 165

On the other hand, by the end of the day I felt that something within me had broken down irreparably; from then on, every morning I believed that would be the last morning I would get up; with every step I took, that I could not possibly take another; with every movement I made, that I would be incapable of making an order; and yet for all that, for the time being, I still managed to accomplish it each and every time. page 170

I can affirm that there is no amount of experience, no tranquillity so perfect, nor any insight of such weight, it seems as to lead us to abandon yet one more last chance in our favor- assuming there is a way, naturally. page 184

Despite all deliberation, sense, insight, and sober reason, I could not fail to recognize within myself the furtive and yet - ashamed as it might be, so to say, of its irrationality-increasingly insistent voice of some muffled craving of sorts: I would like to live a little bit longer in this beautiful concentration camp. page 189

l slumped back on my pillow in relief, only then that something loosened up inside me, and only then did I myself also think-probably for the first time in all seriousness - of freedom. page 236

He declared, " You must put the horrors behind you." Increasingly amazed, I asked, "Why should I?" " In order," He replied, "to be able to live," at which Uncle Fleishmann nodded and added, " Live freely," at which the other old boy nodded and added, "One cannot start a new life under such a burden," and I had to admit he did have a point. page 256

I made it clear to them that we can never start a new life, only ever carry on the old one. I took the steps, no one else, and I declared that I had been true to my given fate throughout. page 259

More Informantion:

Gyuri as a boy's name is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Gyuri is "farmer".

concentration camps:

Auschwitz

Zeitz

Buchenwald

Mauthausen

Theresienstadt. In Czech

In Imre Kertész's novel "Fatelessness," the term "Appell" refers to the roll call or assembly that took place in Nazi concentration camps. It was a routine procedure where camp inmates were gathered and counted by the camp authorities. During these roll calls, prisoners were often subjected to harsh conditions, including standing for hours in all weather conditions, and any attempt to escape or any other form of disobedience could lead to severe punishment or even death.

The "Appell" is a recurring and significant element in the novel, illustrating the dehumanizing and brutal nature of life in the concentration camps.

Links:

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Plot summary, “Fatelessness” by Imre Kertesz in 7 Minutes - Book Review

Fatelessness, Imre Kertész - Book Review

Fateless or Fatelessness by Imre Kertész | Book Review

Ennio Morricone-Fateless / Sorstalansag

Review of Imre Kertesz' "Fateless"

Half A Life by V.S.Naipaul

 

 Hafe A Life by V.S.Naipaul

The book "Half A Life," written by Naipaul, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. Many believe that "A House for Mr. Biswas" is Naipaul's best work, while Literary critics considers "Half A Life" the best among them.

"V. S. Naipaul's novel, 'Half Life,' narrates the tale of Willy Somerset Chandran, a man who dedicated two decades of his life to the pursuit of meaning, contentment, and peace. However, at the age of 41, he contemplated embarking on a new chapter in his life."

This book serves as a sort of autobiography, written by the author himself, who was of Indian origin, born in Trinidad, lived in London, and passed away in London in 2018.

"Willie Chandran, whose father included a part of the author's name in his son's name due to his fascination with the famous British author William Somerset Maugham's book 'Razor's Edge,' is a Hindu Brahmin from a well-to-do family. Due to his marriage to a poor girl, he is constantly blamed by his family."

Like many of his father's relatives, Willy is dissatisfied with his life in India and his family. However, as time passes, he begins to see his father's point of view, even though he used to blame his father for his disappointments and confusion.

Willie studies in London and works part-time as a writer for BBC Radio. However, even after writing his first book, Willy is disillusioned, lonely, and not accepted by the new society. His life changes when he corresponds with Ana, an Afro-Orange girl, about his book. He travels to Africa with Anna, thinking that they will return in a few days while the reader of the novel realizes in the next few lines that eighteen years have passed since their trip to Africa and Willy finally accepts his fate.

In "Half A Life," Naipaul explores themes such as identity, immigration, and the search for meaning and purpose in life. The novel prominently addresses Willy's migration from India to England and then to Africa as he seeks to discover his role as a human being in a multicultural world, a society, and a culture that are constantly Transforming.

Willie Chandran, while looking for another identity after emigration, is discriminated and humiliated in the new society. When the novel's character talks about going to Africa, crossing the Red Sea, Djibouti, Mombasa and the coast of Africa until finally arriving at Anna's motherland, which is probably (Mosaic), the story becomes clearer. The protagonist has no sense of satisfaction from the past and family background. It does not care about its history and culture and tries to hide its past.

"I have been hiding from myself. I have risked nothing. And now the best part of my life is over." page 130

And on the last page of the book, we find the statement, "Now the best part of my life is over, and I haven't done anything."

In conclusion, "Half A Life" serves as a lesson for all readers, emphasizing that the key to finding the meaning of life lies within the minds and hearts of individuals, rather than in India, London, or Africa."

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Excerpts from this book

The opinion of some critics about the book Half A Life

" A masterpiece ... and a potent distillation of the author's work to date."

That was how I became famous. Not in India, where there is a lot of jealousy, but abroad. And the jealousy turned to rage when the writer's famous novel came out during the war, and foreign critics began to see in me the spiritual source of The Razor's Edge. Page 5

I had wished, after all, only to follow the great men of our country. Fate, tossing me about, had made me a hero to people who, fighting their own petty caste war, wished to pull them down. page 29

Within my silence I feel quite free. That is happiness. page 30

It was a broken-down and dusty shack in a suburb far from the maharaja's palace and all his good intentions. Broken- down through it was, the teachers and the school servants didn't want Willie Chandran's mother there. the school servants were ever more fierce than the teachers. they said they would starve rather than serve in school which took in backwards. page 37

‏

When Ana came to the hospital courage came to me, and I told her I wanted to divorce with her.

But I have done him nothing. He is not me. He is his mother's son. All this Mom-and-Pop business comes from her. She can't help it. It's her background. She has these mission-school ambitions. Perhaps after a few hundred rebirths, she will be more evolved. But she can't wait like other decent folk. Like so many backwards nowadays, she wants to jump the gun." Page 39

Willie thought in his head, in English, "he is not only a fraud, but a coward." Page 40

If you are resolute enough you will find a way."Do you accept?" And the Brahman says," I accept." The spirit says," Sleep, rich man. When you awaken you will be in your old temple and the world will be at your feet. But never forget your pledge." Page 44

"Eating my salt and abusing me."

He remembered one of the things his mother's Uncle used to say: that the backwards had been shut out for so long from society that they knew nothing of India, nothing of the other religions, nothing even of the religion of the people of caste, whose serfs they were. And he thought, " This blankness is one of the things I have got from my mother's side." page 53

He made his father's father a "courtier. " So playing with words, he began to re-make himself. It excited him and began to give him a feeling of power.

His tutors said, "You seem to be settling in." page 58

Life doesn't have a neat beginning and a tidy end. life is always going on. you should begin in the middle and end in the middle, and it should all be there. This story about the brahmin and the treasure and the child sacrifice - it could have begun with the tribal Chief coming to see the brahmin in his hermitage. He begins by threatening and ends by grovelling, but when he leaves we should know he is planning a terrible murder. Page 79

"And then there'll be something else to wait for, and then there'll be something after that. This is your father's life." Page 110

 Kama Sutra: page 111

"A guide to the art of living well, the nature of love, finding a life partner, maintaining one's love life, and other aspects pertaining to pleasure-oriented faculties of human life ..."

When Willy goes to Africa with Anna, he thinks that they will return after a few days, and the reader of the book realizes that 18 years have passed since he was in Africa.

After studying in India and writing his first book, Wille is disillusioned and up in the air, and when he meets Anna, he goes to Africa with Anna, thinking that they will return after a few days, and the readers of this book realizes that he has remain in Africa for 18 years.

They have declared that they are, and they risk everything for it. I am hiding from myself. I have taken no risks and now the best part of my life is over. Page 130

They have proclaimed who they are and they are risking everything for it. I have been hiding from myself. I have risked nothing. And now the best part of my life is over. page 130

"I can't live anywhere else," said overseer page 138

And when I next saw the mildewed white staff bungalows I looked at them with a new respect. So bit by bit I learned. Not only about cotton and sisal and cashew, but also about the people. page 138

He said," That's the trouble. To do business you have to be in business. You have to start thinking in a different way. You can't write to people like boots and think they'll want to do business with you just for a year and a day." page 160

When she came back later I said to her "I am forty-one I am tired of living your life."

"You wanted it, Willie . you asked. I had to think about it."

"I know you did everything for me you made it easy for me here. I couldn't have lived here without you. When I asked you in London I was frightened. I had nowhere to go. They were going to throw me out of the college at the end of the term and I didn't know what I could do to keep afloat. But now the best part of my life has gone, and I've done nothing.”

"You are frightened of the new war."

"And even if we go to Portugal, even if they let me in there, it would still be your life. I have been hiding for too long."

"Ana said, perhaps it wasn't really my life either." Page 211

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Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian

 

Soul Mountain

by Gao Xingjian

Translated from the Chinese by Mable Lee

" Engaging and elegant ... His first work." New is in York Times Book Review

Soul Mountain is a literary response to the devastation of the self of the individual by the primitive human urge for the warmth and security of an other, or others, in other words by socialized life.  Page vi

You asked him where he was going. "Lingshan"

"What?"

"Lingshan, Ling meaning Spirit or soul, and shan meaning Mountain." Page 2

Body odour ( known as scent of the immortals) is a disgusting condition with an awful, nauseating smell. It often affects social relationships and can delay life's major event: marriage. It disadvantages young men and women at job interviews or when they try to enlist, therefore inflicting much suffering and anguish. by using a new total treatment, we can instantly eradicate the odour with a rate of up to 97.53% success. For joy in life and future happiness, we welcome you to come and rid yourself of it... Page 6

Today, you can't know what traumas tomorrow will bring. You've learned through experience everything you need to know. what else you are looking for? when a man gets to middle age shouldn't he look for a peaceful and stable existence, find a not-too-demanding sort of a job, stay in a mediocre position become a husband and a father, set up and comfortable home, put money in the bank and add to it every month so there'll be something for old age and little left over for the next generation?  Page 9

 A victim of mountain black magic won't be able to find his way out of the mountains. Page 11

In those contaminated surroundings I was taught that life was the source of literature, that literature had to be faithful to life, faithful to real life. My mistake was that I had alienated myself from life and ended up turning my back on real life. Life is not the same as manifestations of life. Real life, or in other words the basic substance of life, should be the former and not the latter. I had gone against real life because I was simply stringing together life's manifestations, so of course I wasn't able to accurately portray life and in the end only succeed in distorting reality. Page 12

I believe in science but I also believe in fate. Page 13

The pavilion has been painted recently and under the eaves the dragon and Phoenix design has been repainted and the two principal columns at the front are inscribed with the couplet:

Sitting at rest know not to discuss the shortcomings of other people.

Setting out on a journey fully appreciate the beauty of the Dragon River. Page 21

"Man follows earth, earth follows sky, sky follows the way, the way follows nature," he proclaims loudly. " Don't commit actions which go against the basic character of nature, don't commit acts which should not be committed. Page 48

Too much analytical thinking, too much logic, too many meanings! Life has no logic, so why does there have to be logic to explain what it means? Also, what is logic? I think I need to break away from analytical thinking, this is the cause of all my anxieties. Page 50

For me, however, what I had to ponder was this: how should I change this life for which I had just won a reprieve? Page 74

Are you saying that this Lingyan is just an insensate Rock? If I don't say that. what should I say? If I do that say that, is it because I shouldn't say it or because I can't say it? That is entirely up to you she will be what you want her to be if you think she is beautiful she will be beautiful if there is evil in your heart you will only see demons. Page 93

.

When the moon is out,

Don't take a torch with you,

If you take a torch with you,

The moon will be heartbroken.

When vegetables are in flower,

Don't take a basket to cut vegetables,

If you shoulder a basket to cut vegetables,

The vegetable flowers will be heartbroken.

If you are pledged to a girl who loves you,

Don't fancy another,

If you fancy another,

The girl will be heartbroken.

Page 117

A pigeon and a chicken search for food together,

The chicken has an owner but the pigeon does not,

If the owner of the chicken takes the chicken home,

The pigeon is left all alone.

A girl and a boy play together,

The girl has an owner but the boy does not,

If the owner of the girl takes her home,

The boy is left all alone.

Page 118

I asked him whether in the past clan classifications of Yi society were very strict, for example, if men and women of the same clan married or had a sexual relationship were both parties put to death? If maternal cousins married or had a sexual relationship were they punished by death? If a white Yi slave and a woman of the black YI  aristocracy had a sexual relationship, was the man put to death and the woman forced to suicide? Page 123

The tops of the mountains on this high plateau are like voluptuous breasts, but close up, they are huge and somewhat oppressive. Page 132

Shaking up and down in the speeding bus on the Mountain road induces a sense of loss of gravity. I seem to levitate. I don't know where I am drifting, and I don't know what it is that I am searching for. Page 136

On the other hand, if I were a woman and living with a man, this would also be a worry. The problem is the awakening self in the inner mind, this is the monster which torments me no end. People love the self yet mutilate the self. Arrogance, pride, complacency or anxiety, jealousy and hatred, all sprung from this. the self is in fact the source of mankind's mystery. So does this unhappy conclusion mean that the awakened self should therefore be killed?

This Buddha told the boddhisatva: the myriad phenomena are vanity, the absence of phenomena is also vanity. Page 152

Suicide has to be for someone or for something but she no longer exists for any person or thing, and she no longer has the energy to kill herself. Her heart has been numbed by all the humiliation and pain she has experienced. Page 258

Fuxi and Nuwa.  Page 307

The two conjoined figures are Fuxi and Nuwa, a brother and sister who, according to a Chinese foundation myth, were the only survivors of a great flood. Charged with repopulating the world, Fuxi and Nuwa created vast numbers of clay figures, which they were able to bring to life with some divine assistance.

You know that I am just talking to myself to alleviate my loneliness. You know that this loneliness of mine is incurable, that no- one can save me and that I can only talk with myself as the partner of my conversation. Page 312

Fiction is different from philosophy because it is the product of sensory perceptions. If a futile self-made signifier is saturated in a solution of lust and at a practical time transforms into a living cell capable of multiplying and growing, it is much more interesting than games of the intellect.  Furthermore, It is the game as life and does not have an ultimate goal. Page 315

Often career and ambition are inseparable. To say a man has ambition is to say he has a career. Ambition is the basis of a career, with ambition one invariably wants to be outstanding. Page 339

When Nuwa created humans she also created their sufferings. Humans are created from the interior of Nuwa and born in the bloody fluids of women and so they can never be washed clean. Page 350

Language is like a blob of paste which can only be broken up by sentence. If you abandon sentences, it will be like falling into a quagmire and you will flounder about helplessly. Page 351

Dragging weighty thoughts you crawl about in language, trying all the time to grab a thread to pull yourself up, becoming more and more weary, entangled in floating stands of language, like a silkworm spitting out silk, weaving a net for yourself, wrapping yourself in thicker and thicker darkness, the faint glimmer of light in your heart becoming weaker and weaker until finally the net is a totality of chaos. Page 351

How is it possible to find a clear language with an indestructible sound which is larger than a Melody, transcends limitations of phrases and sentences, does not distinguish between subject and object, transcends pronounce, discards logic, simply sprawls, and is not bound by images, metaphors, associations of symbols? will it be able to give expression to the suffering of life and the fear of death, distress and joy, loneliness and consolation, perplexity and expectations, hesitation and resolve, weakness and courage, jealousy and remorse, calm and impatience and self-confidence, generosity and constraint, kindness and hatred, pity and despair, as well as lack of ambition and placidity humility and wickedness, nobility and viciousness, cruelty and benevolence, fervour and indifference, and aloofness, and admiration, and promiscuousness, and vanity, and greed, as well as scorn and respect, certainty and uncertainty, modesty and arrogance, obstinacy and chagrin, resentment and shame, surprise and amazement, lethargy, muddle-headedness, sudden enlightenment, never comprehending failing to comprehend, as well as just allowing whatever will happen to happen. Page 352

Man follows earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows the way, the way follows Nature.

This is the source of what I had heard from the old botanist in the primitive forest. The inner couplet is:

Invisible and an inaudible, mystical indeed is its imperceptibility, joining the trinity of jade purity, superior purity and supreme purity.

Know its workings, observe its profundity, pure indeed is its tranquility, forming the principal of the way of heaven, the Way of earth and the Way of man. Page 402

The old head Daoist tells me about the two couples. "the way is both the source and the law of the myriad things, when there is mutual respect of both subject and object there is oneness. this source gives birth to existence from non-existence, and to non-existence from existence. The union of the two is innate and with the Union of heaven and the man there is the attainment of unity in one's view of the cosmos and of human life. For Daoists, purity is the principal, non-action the essence and spontaneity the application; it is a life of truth and a life requiring absence of self. To put it simply, this is the general meaning of Daoist." Page 403

You go on climbing mountains. As you near the peak and are feeling exhausted you always think it is the last time but when the exhilaration of reaching the peak subsides you feel the urge again. This feeling grows as your weariness vanishes and looking at the rising and falling lines of the peaks in the hazy distance your desire to climb mountains resurges.  but once you climb a mountain you lose interest in it and invariably think the mountain beyond will have things you haven't encountered. When you eventually get to that peak the wonders you hoped for aren't there, and once again there is just the lonely mountain wind.Page 435

Xu Wei's couplet, "The world is a false illusion created by others, what is original and authentic is what I propose." seems to be more penetrating. 

However, if it is a false illusion why is it created by others? And whether or not it is false is irrelevant, but is it necessary to allow others to create it? Also, as for what is original and authentic, at issue is not its authenticity but whether or not it can be proposed. Page 448

He goes up and politely asks "Venerable elder can you tell me the location of Lingshan?"

“Where have you come from?” the old man asked instead.

He says from Wuyizhen. Page 478

…

He says " The road is not wrong, it is the traveller who is wrong." Page 478

He really can't make up his mind and can only think of an old proverb dating back a thousand years: "Existence is returning, non-existence is returning, so don't stay by the river getting blown about by the cold wind."  Page 479

These are all memories, this tinkling which sticks in your mind seems to be a sound in your brain. there is an agonizing, searing pain in your lungs and stomach, your heart pulsates wildly, chaotically, and your brain is about to explode. When it explodes, the blood will clot, it will be a soundless explosion. life is fragile, yet to obstinately struggle is natural. page 503 You fall into an even deeper darkness and again feel your heart pulsating, discern physical pain. The fear of death of the living body is concrete like this, the physical body you failed to abandon recovers its sensitivity. in the darkness, in the corner of the room, the line of bright red lights on your tape recorder is flashing. page 504

Snow is falling soundlessly. I am surprised by this tranquility. In Heaven it is peaceful like this.

And there is no joy. joy is related to anxiety.

Snow is falling.

I don't know where I am at this moment, I don't know where this realm of Heaven comes from. I look all around.

I don't know that I don't understand anything and still think I know anything.

Things just happen behind me and there is always a mysterious eye, so it is best for me just to pretend that I understand even if I don't.

While pretending to understand, I still don't understand.

The fact of the matter is I comprehend nothing, I understand nothing.

This is how it is. page 506

Introduction of the book Soul Mountain

Cliff Notes Plot summary, “Soul Mountain” by Gao Xingjian in 5 Minutes - Book Review

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