Cute pidgin pie
17 February 2007
Slight. A slight story, slightly poignant, slightly drawn characters, occasionally slightly funny. It also has a grating aspect that is not slight: its language. The central character, a young Chinese woman in London, tells this story, I don’t know why, in fractured English. So there is a lot of this: ‘Patty Surly’ for Patisserie, ‘Queue Gardens’ (get it?) and when she is in Italy talking to a lawyer, he is described as an ‘Avocado’. Enough already. In 50 years of listening to Chinese learning to speak English I never heard this kind of thing: ‘I not meet you yet. You in future.’
Astoundingly, half way through this book there is a passage in a different type- face, signed ‘Editor’s translation’. It confesses, ‘I am sick of speaking English like this. I am sick of writing English like this.’ This is a misdirected torpedo below the waterlines of readers trying to suspend disbelief while coping with the cutesy narrative.
More articles from: Jonathan Mirsky | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
It wasn’t meant to be this way. The Tories used…
David Cameron is a sunny-side-up politician. At his first party…
The year has begun with the British political class obsessing…
Westminster used to think that 2012 would be the year…
Downing Street’s negotiating team returned from Berlin last Friday afternoon…
Popular Blogger Posts
sponsored links
THE PRESENT FINDER
1,700 Unusual Christmas Presents Request Catalogue 01935 815 195 Quote SPEC10 for 10% discount www.presentfinder.co.uk
OLIVE BRANCH FLORISTS
Pimilco based Florist with online ordering Web: www.olivebranch.net Tel: 020 7630 1868 Fax: 020 7233 8844
RUFFS Bespoke Signet rings
62 Shore Road, Warsash, Southampton, SO31 9FT Telephone: 01489 578867 Web site: www.ruffs.co.uk
Apollo Magazine | Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2012 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved
Be the first to comment on this article!
Back to top