Pacific Rim Voices 評「三腳馬」英譯本
THREE-LEGGED HORSE
by Cheng Ch'ing-wen
Columbia Univeristy Press, New York (192pp.)
Reviewed by Gail Tsukiyama
Winner of the 1999 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize for Fiction, Taiwanese writer Cheng Ch'ing-wen's Three-Legged Horse introduces twelve unpretentious, powerfully told short stories, which strike a universal chord in readers near and far. It is both an homage to all those who lived through the 50 years of Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945), as well as a record of the scars they and the following generation must bear as they subsequently move from an agrarian to an urban society. In the title story, "Three-Legged Horse," a man who is stigmatized by a birthmark willingly becomes a Japanese informer, only to seek redemption later after the Japanese defeat by carving crippled horses "who emanated pain and remorse" as his penance. Generations clash in the face of a newly developing society in "God of Thunder's Gonna Getcha," as traditions are challenged when a country mother can't understand her son's city ways, finding herself trapped by memories of war and hunger. "People who tramp on things and aren't good to their parents get struck by thunder," she warns time after time. And a daughter disobeys her mother-in-law and walks through the harrowing night in search of a husband she's forbidden to see in "Autumn Night." Along the way she remembers the words her own mother had once told her, "Once married, if she should feel wronged, she could only hide in her room, cry to her heart's content, and then wipe away her tears." Cheng's characters face life's adversities and continue to move forward-- for better or worse-- into a changing world. A young woman is drawn from the city to the country in search of a classmate in "Betel Nut Town." And it isn't until the loss of his wife that a man comes to terms with his childhood of being raised an orphan and his own infertility in "Spring Rain."
Hearts and souls are lost and found in each of these moving tales. Written with simple, vivid detail, Cheng examines Taiwan's changing society through the absorbing, careful portraits of small-town men and women who are both traumatized by the past and disoriented by the future. We are given a rare glimpse into worlds that resonate long after each story has finished. Three-Legged Horse is a rare jewel, the first English translations from Cheng's 40-year writing career. We can only wait in eager anticipation for his next collection.
