Howdy, folks.
I don't think I've discussed the novel I'm writing, but I do know I've mentioned it, as well as some of the things that got me interested in the subject matter. I didn't touch the book for a long while, but since I graduated (oh yeah, I failed to mention that, too- yours truly now has a B.A. in Chinese Studies) and have become a full-time househusband/slacker/liver-of-the-dream, work has proceeded apace on the novel. I haven't written this much, in the sense of plugging away daily and not giving up, in years. As always, I have no idea if I'll get sick of it and shelve it again, but right now if a day passes without adding a page or two, I feel like a failure, and I spend a lot of time thinking about the book, so I'll take that as a good sign. Sure sounds better than grad school.
Anyhoo. The novel starts in 1528, and deals with two main characters: a Venetian and a Chinese from Fujian. There are some basic similarities between them, 'cause in some ways they both embody aspects of your humble Corpse. 1528 is an interesting year because nothing world-shaking happened in either China (ruled by the Jiajing emperor) or Venice (Doge Andrea Gritti represent!), which makes it tough to tie either character to grand historical events. When I say "tough," that's a good thing; I'm not aiming to mimic Eco's Baudolino, for example, and pretend that Anacleto Stornello or Xiaoyao/Yan Liang'en- my main men- are anything but two dudes who did some interesting things in the context of their times and cultures. Times and cultures, mind you, seen through historical and personal filters, with some flat-out misunderstanding, authorial fiat and "why the hell not?" thrown in.
Anacleto and Xiaoyao aren't the only protagonists. Anacleto's almost anachronistically rebellious, independent sister showed up to the party early on and she's not going anywhere, as far as I can tell. Xiaoyao is currently on his own, but he'll have some traveling companions sooner than later, though something tells me they won't be as trustworthy as Anacleto's sister. I've got a ton of ground to cover- literally and figuratively; the Ottoman Empire, the Portuguese Estado da India, the liminal world of wokou piracy, maybe even the Mughal Empire- so it's hard to tell who will show up, and in what capacity.
Long story short, I'm stoked about this book. I love how much I've learned, and how much more there is to learn, just in order to write it. I love how my own understanding of history, identity, and politics keeps changing as I process the broad strokes and the details of the Renaissance/early modernity/etc. I love seeing my own writing take on characteristics (some good, some bad) that weren't there during the writing of previous novels. Shit, I even love the aforementioned days without writing, because they are reminders that, at long last, the fire has been rekindled and won't be put out easily.
I hope to post later tonight about other things, but if I don't, this isn't a bad contribution for the day. Later, folks!
DAS
1 comment:
Very exciting!
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