Five Spice Street (A Margellos world republic of letters book)

__Five Spice Street__ tells the story of a street in an unnamed city whose inhabitants speculate on the life of a mysterious Madam X. The novel interweaves their endless suppositions into a work that is at once political parable and surreal fantasia. Some think X is 50 years old; others that she is 22. Some believe she has occult powers and has thereby enslaved the young men of the street; others think she is a clever trickster playing mind games with the common people. Who is Madam X? How has she brought the good people of Five Spice Street to their knees either in worship or in exasperation? The unknown narrator takes no sides in the endless interplay of visions, arguments, and opinions. The investigation rages, as the street becomes a Walpurgisnacht of speculations, fantasies, and prejudices. Madam X is a vehicle whereby the people bare their souls, through whom __they__ reveal themselves even as they try to penetrate the mystery of her extraordinary powers. __Five Spice Street__ is one of the most astonishing novels of the past twenty years. Exploring the collective consciousness of this little street of ordinary people, Can Xue penetrates the deepest existential anxieties of the present day—whether in China or in the West—where the inevitable impermanence of identity struggles with the narrative within which identity must compose itself. The first full-length novel by Chinese author Can Xue to appear in English Five Spice Street tells the story of a street in an unnamed city whose inhabitants speculate on the life of a mysterious Madam X. The novel interweaves their endless suppositions into a work that is at once political parable and surreal fantasia. Some think X is 50 years old; others that she is 22. Some believe she has occult powers and has thereby enslaved the young men of the street; others think she is a clever trickster playing mind games with the common people. Who is Madam X? How has she brought the good people of Five Spice Street to their knees either in worship or in exasperation? The unknown narrator takes no sides in the endless interplay of visions, arguments, and opinions. The investigation rages, as the street becomes a Walpurgisnacht of speculations, fantasies, and prejudices. Madam X is a vehicle whereby the people bare their souls, through whom they reveal themselves even as they try to penetrate the mystery of her extraordinary powers. Five Spice Street is one of the most astonishing novels of the past twenty years. Exploring the collective consciousness of this little street of ordinary people, Can Xue penetrates the deepest existential anxieties of the present daywhether in China or in the Westwhere the inevitable impermanence of identity struggles with the narrative within which identity must compose itself. "Five Spice Street tells the story of a street in an unnamed city, whose inhabitants speculate on the life of a mysterious Madam X. The novel interweaves their endless suppositions into a work that is at once political parable and surreal fantasia. Some think X is fifty years old, others that she is twenty-two. Some believe she uses occult powers to enslave the youth of the street; others think she is playing clever mind games with people. Who is Madam X? How has she brought the good people of Five Spice Street to their knees either in worship or in exasperation? The unknown narrator takes no sides in the endless interplay of visions, arguments, and opinions. The investigation rages as the street becomes a Walpurgisnacht of speculations, fantasies, and prejudices. Madam X is the vehicle through whom people bare their souls, reveal their innermost selves, even as they try to discover the mystery of her extraordinary powers." "Five Spice Street is an astonishing work of contemporary fiction. Exploring the collective consciousness of this little street of ordinary people, Can Xue penetrates the deepest existential anxieties of the present day - whether in China or in the West - where the impermanence of identity struggles with the narrative within which identity must compose itself."--Jacket CONTENTS 7 Preliminaries 13 1. Madam X’s Age and Mr. Q’s Looks 13 2. Madam X’s Occupations 30 3. Madam X’s and the Widow’s Differing Opinions about ‘‘Sex’’ 58 4. Mr. Q and His Family 78 5. The Failure of Reeducation 87 6. Madam X Talks Abstractly of Her Experiences with Men 95 The Way Things Are Done 109 1. A Few Opinions about the Story’s Beginning 109 2. Some Implications 161 3. The Tails’ Confessions 197 4. Mr. Q’s Character 206 5. Madam X Is Up a Creek 221 6. Who Made the First Move? 226 7. How to Wrap Up All the Issues Left Hanging 254 8. The Rationality of the Widow’s Historical Contribution and Status 280 9. The Vague Positions of Mr. Q and Madam X’s Husband 293 10. How We Reversed the Negative and Elected Madam X Our Representative 315 11. Madam X’s Steps Are Buoyant; On Broad Five Spice Street, She Walks toward Tomorrow 329

Five Spice Street tells the story of a street in an unnamed city whose inhabitants speculate on the life of a mysterious Madam X. The novel interweaves their endless suppositions into a work that is at Can Xue ; Translated By Karen Gernant And Chen Zeping. Translated From The Chinese.