Kirjahaku

From the preeminent writer of Taiwanese nativist fiction and the leading translator of Chinese literature come these poignant accounts of everyday life in rural and small-town Taiwan. Huang is frequently cited as one of the most original and gifted storytellers in the Chinese language, and these selections reveal his genius. In "The Two Sign Painters," TV reporters ambush two young workers from the country taking a break atop a twenty-four-story building. "His Son's Big Doll" introduces the tortured soul inside a walking advertisement, and in "Xiaoqi's Cap" a dissatisfied pressure-cooker salesman is fascinated by a young schoolgirl.Huang's characters -- generally the uneducated and disadvantaged who must cope with assaults on their traditionalism, hostility from their urban brethren and, of course, the debilitating effects of poverty -- come to life in all their human uniqueness, free from idealization.

Blake Nevius’s close analysis and appraisal of Edith Wharton’s novels and stories reveals the modernity of her fiction and shows why she should have a permanent claim on our attention. Wharton is the only American novelist who has dealt successfully and at length with the remains of traditional New York society, which barely survived the beginning of the twentieth century. She illuminated, as no other novelist of her generation was able to do, a major aspect of U.S. social history through the dramatic conflict between the ideals of the old mercantile and the new industrial societies. Nevius also argues that Wharton, next to Henry James, is our most successful novelist of manners and, along with him, helped preserve the artistic dignity of the novel This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1953.

Cooper's Landscapes: An Essay on the Picturesque Vision delves into the vivid and enduring landscapes of James Fenimore Cooper's works, exploring how his descriptive artistry shaped the American literary imagination. This essay examines Cooper's unique ability to translate the grandeur of early 19th-century America into powerful visual panoramas that resonate with readers long after the characters and plots fade. Drawing on insights from European aesthetic traditions and the picturesque conventions, the book highlights how Cooper's narrative settings were inspired by both his American roots and his transformative years abroad. This perspective not only contextualizes his work within the broader scope of art and landscape painting but also underscores Cooper's innovative approach to crafting scenes that intertwine with the thematic elements of his storytelling. The book also offers a fresh critique of Cooper’s aesthetic education, focusing on his mastery of landscape organization, the influence of his European experiences, and his application of landscape gardening principles in fiction. From early romances like The Last of the Mohicans to the nuanced complexities of later works such as Wyandotte, the essay reveals how Cooper’s visual imagination evolved to serve his narrative ambitions. By connecting Cooper’s artistry to the broader Romantic movement and theories of visual perception, this study illuminates the profound interplay between literature and the sister arts, offering a rich framework for appreciating Cooper’s enduring contributions to American cultural and literary history. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1976.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1962.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1962.

Cooper's Landscapes: An Essay on the Picturesque Vision delves into the vivid and enduring landscapes of James Fenimore Cooper's works, exploring how his descriptive artistry shaped the American literary imagination. This essay examines Cooper's unique ability to translate the grandeur of early 19th-century America into powerful visual panoramas that resonate with readers long after the characters and plots fade. Drawing on insights from European aesthetic traditions and the picturesque conventions, the book highlights how Cooper's narrative settings were inspired by both his American roots and his transformative years abroad. This perspective not only contextualizes his work within the broader scope of art and landscape painting but also underscores Cooper's innovative approach to crafting scenes that intertwine with the thematic elements of his storytelling. The book also offers a fresh critique of Cooper’s aesthetic education, focusing on his mastery of landscape organization, the influence of his European experiences, and his application of landscape gardening principles in fiction. From early romances like The Last of the Mohicans to the nuanced complexities of later works such as Wyandotte, the essay reveals how Cooper’s visual imagination evolved to serve his narrative ambitions. By connecting Cooper’s artistry to the broader Romantic movement and theories of visual perception, this study illuminates the profound interplay between literature and the sister arts, offering a rich framework for appreciating Cooper’s enduring contributions to American cultural and literary history. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1976.

Blake Nevius’s close analysis and appraisal of Edith Wharton’s novels and stories reveals the modernity of her fiction and shows why she should have a permanent claim on our attention. Wharton is the only American novelist who has dealt successfully and at length with the remains of traditional New York society, which barely survived the beginning of the twentieth century. She illuminated, as no other novelist of her generation was able to do, a major aspect of U.S. social history through the dramatic conflict between the ideals of the old mercantile and the new industrial societies. Nevius also argues that Wharton, next to Henry James, is our most successful novelist of manners and, along with him, helped preserve the artistic dignity of the novel This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1953.