Comments on: Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, by Xiaolu Guo

By: Guo Xiaolu, 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth (2009) « Smithereens

Guo Xiaolu, 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth (2009) « Smithereens — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:30:46 +0000

[...] Fiction writers has a great review here highlighting the strengths and weakness of this book. Check it out! Like this:LikeBe the first to [...]

By: jenni

jenni — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:16:11 +0000

In fact I wish I had written “You had me at …
revision!

By: jenni

jenni — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:11:05 +0000

Yes!

By: Celeste

Celeste — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:24:36 +0000

Tori–yes, I think you’re right about the title. There is a lot of great writing in the book, but the “fragment” part stood in the way of the novel more than it benefitted it. I’m curious about Guo’s writing process for the original Chinese publication, and why she decided on such a fragmented form. This was her debut novel, so it may just have been the choice of a less experienced writer.

Jenni–is this like “You had me at hello?”

Thanks for your thoughts, both of you!

By: jenni

jenni — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:23:11 +0000

You had my trust at “as if exhausted by the title that slices across her face.”

By: tori

tori — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:53:42 +0000

Great review–you’ve really captured the novel for better and for worse. Unfortunately, the title struck me as an attempt to turn the book’s flaws into a hook, and the novel was never truly successful.