The Old Man of the Moon (Penguin Little Black Classics)

by Fu Shen

Paperback

Status

Available

Genres

General Fiction

Fiction

Publication

Penguin Classic

Description

'Our passion was so great. Will the Old Man understand and help us once again?'The Old Man of the Moonis Shen Fu's intimate and moving account of his marriage - from early passion to the trials of poverty and separation - and his great, enduring love for his wife in eighteenth-century China. Introducing Little Black Classics- 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member SashaM

I found this fascinating. Most historical narratives don't really talk about the author's poverty. I guess because most people educated enough to write either had rich relatives or enough education to support themselves. This was interesting as it was the very personal story of the author's love

for his wife and a look into home life in 18th century China.
It has surprised me how interesting most of the Chinese writers in this collection have been. I have, in general, found that they are very easy to read and not as dry as some of the european writers of the same era.

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LibraryThing member greeniezona

The story of the author's marriage from 18th century China sometimes seems as if it should be from much longer ago. He and his wife clearly loved each other deeply, but their lives were often difficult and included a lot of suffering. Sometimes the causes for that suffering were difficult to

understand, as this slim novella focuses so narrowly on his relationship to his wife that their changes in fortune often come out of nowhere. Still, the depth of his love for her can hardly help but make Yun interesting to our eyes. Plus, she endeared herself to me every time she chafed against something she was not allowed to do because she wasn't a man. Especially when she did it anyway.

Often beautiful, often sad. Sometimes both at once. A little gem.

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LibraryThing member JosephCamilleri

...Our souls became smoke and mist ... it was as if my body ceased to exist...

I would advise all the husbands and wives in the world not to hate each other, certainly,but also not to love too deeply.

The narrator of Shen Fu’s "The Old Man of the Moon" is a widower who wistfully recounts the joys

and trials of his marriage to his cousin Yun. Written in 1809 and rediscovered in the 1870s, this tale of a man who “loved his wife too deeply” is not far removed from the novels of lost or thwarted love which were a staple of the European Romantic movement. The prose is generally formal, simple and matter-of-fact and, frankly, rather at odds with the passion seething underneath. Although I suspect that this might be something of a culture-specific issue, the style might also be meant to reflect the character of the narrator whose “purpose is merely to record true feelings and actual events”. Newly published in the “Penguin Little Black Classics” series, this is a novella worth exploring.

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LibraryThing member TheCrow2

Bittersweet history of a marriage in the 18th century China.

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