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Salt Fish Girl
Aug. 30th, 2010 07:35 pmI just finished reading Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai. The story follows Miranda, a girl in a dystopian future, and her memories/incarnations/hallucinations? of being Nu Wa and a girl in 1800's China... and her girlfriend, The Salt Fish Girl. The writing is deeply evocative, literally sensuous, scent, food, texture, everything just comes alive in the writing.
Lai balances all the futuristic and mythical with a very down to earth banality- people trying to live their lives, people making mistakes... but also the banality of evil- nothing ever feels safe, it's all fleeting. This happens without being hamfisted, and what isn't described or explained leaves a combination of mystery and unease. It never goes for the cheap threats, everything is looming and terrifying more if you think about context, rather than any specific bit that is written in the narrative.
It manages to hit on a lot of things, lesbian love, patriarchy, medical experimentation, cultural assimilation, white approval, the ways in which folks internalize and oppress each other and themselves, without getting heavy handed or stupid with it.
I think the book is a 4/5, though I don't know if I'd be up to reading it again. I generally like light, fluffy fiction, and while this is a quick read, the sense of unease in the book sticks with you.
( Cut for spoilers, deep spoilers, and discussion about the themes in the book. )
Lai balances all the futuristic and mythical with a very down to earth banality- people trying to live their lives, people making mistakes... but also the banality of evil- nothing ever feels safe, it's all fleeting. This happens without being hamfisted, and what isn't described or explained leaves a combination of mystery and unease. It never goes for the cheap threats, everything is looming and terrifying more if you think about context, rather than any specific bit that is written in the narrative.
It manages to hit on a lot of things, lesbian love, patriarchy, medical experimentation, cultural assimilation, white approval, the ways in which folks internalize and oppress each other and themselves, without getting heavy handed or stupid with it.
I think the book is a 4/5, though I don't know if I'd be up to reading it again. I generally like light, fluffy fiction, and while this is a quick read, the sense of unease in the book sticks with you.
( Cut for spoilers, deep spoilers, and discussion about the themes in the book. )
