Wang Wen-hsing is one of the most distinguished writers in contemporary Taiwan. His two novels, Family Catastrophe and Backed Against the Sea, embody some quintessential elements of modernist aesthetics. Dimensions of narrative language, especially its psycho-acoustic effects and symbolic potentialities, are explored to the fullest extent therein. Probing the dark recesses of family ethics and exposing the limits of human dignity, these works pose serious challenges to Taiwan’s conservative and conformist dominant culture formed in the martial-law period. Wang’s relentless endeavors to build a distinctive model of literary creation has earned him enormous reverence in academic circles. Further testimonials of his exceptional achievement include two prestigious awards, the Taiwan’s National Award for Arts in Literature (2009) and the French Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (2011).——Sung-Sheng Yvonne Chang

READINGS

3 PAGES OF EXCERPT FROM MAN WITH CLIPPED WINGS

《剪翼史》


FAMILY CATASTROPHE (CH. 83)



(The following recording is provided through the courtesy of Professor Peng Yi and taken from his project
"Gramophone: The Prosody of Modernity, the Case of Wang Wen-Hsing" sponsored by the National Science Council [Ministry of Science and Technology])


BACKED AGAINST THE SEA VOL. 2 (PP. 362 - 364)


(The following recording is provided through the courtesy Professor Peng Yi and taken from his project
"Gramophone: The Prosody of Modernity, the Case of Wang Wen-Hsing" sponsored by the National Science Council [Ministry of Science and Technology])


ONLINE READINGS

VIDEOS









Edited by Shu-Ning Sciban(黃恕寧) & Fred Edwards
New York: East Asia Program Cornell University (April 2011)

本書為小說、散文與劇本之合集,逐篇由不同譯者亦為英文。全書分三部分,「短篇小說」收錄〈守夜〉、〈一條垂死的狗〉、〈一個公務員的結婚〉、〈殘局〉、〈痺〉、〈下午〉、〈玩具手鎗〉、〈母親〉、〈日曆〉、〈最快樂的事〉、〈大地之歌〉、〈草原底盛夏〉、〈結束〉、〈兩婦人〉、〈大風〉、〈踐約〉、〈海濱聖母節〉、〈命運的迹線〉、〈寒流〉、〈欠缺〉、〈黑衣〉、〈明月夜〉共22篇,「中篇小說與劇本」收錄中篇小說〈龍天樓〉與劇本〈M和W〉共兩篇,「散文」收錄〈《新刻的石像》序〉、〈淺論現代文學〉等五篇。

(摘自國立臺灣文學館出版、易鵬編選《臺灣現當代作家研究資料彙編48王文興》)

TRANSLATIONS