ONCE ON A MOONLESS NIGHT

ONCE ON A MOONLESS NIGHT

SIJIE D

ISBN: 9780099521327

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A YOUNG FRENCH WOMAN IN PEKING IN THE LATE 1970S INTERPRETS BETWEEN CHINESE PROFESSORS AND BERTOLUCCI FOR HIS FILM THE LAST EMPEROR. AFTERWARDS, SHE FOLLOWS A DISGRUNTLED OLD PROFESSOR WHO TELLS HER ABOUT A TEXT BELIEVED TO BE TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM BUDDHA'S TEACHINGS AND INSCRIBED ON SILK CLOTH CENTURIES AGO. IT WAS WRITTEN IN A NOW-DEAD LANGUAGE CALLED TUMCHOOQ (COINCIDENTALLY, THE NAME OF A YOUNG CHINESE MAN SHE HAS JUST MET), SO BEAUTIFUL IN ITS SIMPLICITY IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO RENDER ACCURATELY IN TRANSLATION. PUYI, THE LAST EMPEROR AND LAST OWNER OF THIS RELIC, ALLEGEDLY TORE THE SILK IN TWO WITH HIS TEETH WHILE BEING FLOWN TO MANCHURIA BY THE JAPANESE, AND THREW THE FRAGMENTS FROM THE PLANE. ONLY HALF OF THE MUTILATED MANUSCRIPT WAS RECOVERED, AND THE READER, LIKE THE NARRATOR, MUST WAIT TILL THE END OF THE NOVEL TO DISCOVER THE REST. WHEN THE COMPLETE TEXT IS FINALLY PIECED TOGETHER, ITS MESSAGE IS DEVASTATINGLY SIMPLE, AND ALL THE MORE POIGNANT BECAUSE IT HAS TAKEN SUCH SACR

ISBN Number 9780099521327
Author/s SIJIE D
Format Book
Edition 1ST - 2010
Publisher VINTAGE
Format