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Book of the Month May 2020 (or whenever!) - 《草鞋湾》 by 曹文轩


Lu

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Chapters 7 and 8

 

Another nice illustration on p. 72.

 

错动 cuòdòng - to move relative to another

赖皮赖脸 làipílàiliǎn - cheeky; shameless

掖 yē - to tuck in

横七竖八 héngqī-shùbā - in a mess

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Actually, maybe it took longer than a week.  Who knows?  In lockdown, time has no meaning...

 

On 5/26/2020 at 4:25 PM, roddy said:

Alternatively, if you're still in the UK I can post my copy down when I'm done with it - fun though it is, I'm unlikely to re-read it in the near future. 

 

Same here, if anyone in the UK is looking for a copy.

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Chapter 9:

 

Spoiler

 

Oh no, somebody kidnapped 丘丘! 

 

傍晚,沙丘克回到了上海,回到了草鞋湾路一百零八好。

I like that the full address is spelled out each time. ?

 

 

踉跄 liàngliàng-qiāngqiāng - to totter, stagger
攥紧拳头 zuànjǐn-quántóu - clenched fist
黄包车 huángbāochē - rickshaw
颠三倒四 diānsān-dǎosì - incoherent (of speech)
肆无忌惮 sìwújìdàn - stop at nothing

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Just finished chapter 16.  You were right about chapter 15 Roddy... exciting stuff.

 

And as for 沙丘克...

Spoiler

He's turning out to be a bit of a shady character.  All this day drinking with his child in tow, and really going to town on that guy...

 

The scene when they go back to the little girl's house was also kind of depressing.

 

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Spoiler
39 minutes ago, somethingfunny said:

He's turning out to be a bit of a shady character. All this day drinking with his child in tow, and really going to town on that guy...

 

Not so much shady, I think, but troubled, rather. It's the kind of behaviour that a reader wouldn't think twice about if he were a single hard-boiled detective, but because there is a child involved you suddenly see how self-destructive is it.

 

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11 hours ago, roddy said:

 

I figured if I read it faster, I can pass the book onto someone else who'll read it - anyone?

 

I know you'll have plenty of candidates from your area, but if no one wanted it and you were willing to send it to Spain, I'd be interested ?

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19 minutes ago, Geiko said:

I know you'll have plenty of candidates from your area,

Possibly not!

 

Many years ago, being the only one to ask was how I got roddy’s palm pilot that had been through the wash, but started working again shortly after he had bought a replacement. 

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And finished. That was actually really good - I have to admit I was a bit sceptical starting out, but that actually made for a lovely little read. May father and son have many more adventures, and magpies in their tree. 

 

If anyone in the UK wants my copy ( @Tomsima?) say so quickly...

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On 5/26/2020 at 4:51 PM, Lu said:

p 191 沙小丘 climbs the stairs, 一边故意将屁股往后埋. Does anyone understand what 埋 means here?
p 192 沙丘克站到了椅子上,又从椅子上站到了桌子上: this useage of 站 is new to me, not meaning ‘to stand on’ but ‘to step on’, the movement from one standing place to another.

That use of 埋 does seem odd, I'd have thought you need something to 埋 things in, otherwise it's not 埋ed. 

The other one I took to be him stepping onto the chair with both feet, then onto the table, rather than using the chair as a step. If that make sense. 

 

58 minutes ago, imron said:

Many years ago, being the only one to ask was how I got roddy’s palm pilot

Man, my old palm T5. Future technology, in 2005. Should have a nostalgia topic. 

 

Oh, and the afterword to the book is short and sweet - worth reading also.

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Chapters 10 and 11

 

Spoiler

Boy lost, boy recovered.

 

顺藤摸瓜 shùnténɡ-mōɡuā - follow a clue to get results
闪失 shǎnshī - mishap
凶相 xiōnɡxiànɡ - ferocious/fiendish look
有声有色 yǒushēnɡ-yǒusè - full of sound and color
别致 biézhì - unique
弹跳 tántiào - bounce
败露 bàilù - come to light
何止 hézhǐ - be far more than
蛮荒 mánhuānɡ - wild, uncivilized region
码 mǎ - to pile up
揣度 chuǎiduó - surmise
沓 dá - pile (of paper)
梗 ɡěnɡ - to straighten up
差错 chācuò - accident
煞有介事 shàyǒujièshì - to take sth seriously
堂堂 tánɡtánɡ - formidable
徒有虚名 túyǒu-xūmíng - not live up to one’s name
蒙蒙亮 mēnɡmēnɡliànɡ - dawn-like
直勾勾 zhígōugōu - fixed (gaze)
簌簌 sùsù - rustling sound
一瞥 yīpiē - to take a glance
不屈不挠 bùqū-bùnáo - dauntless

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Chapters 12 and 13

 

Spoiler

沙丘克 missed a potential second calling as a professional artist. Ultimately he became a private eye, but the visual arts background comes in handy when staking out hostels and sketching suspects.

 

供词 ɡònɡcí - confession
蹩脚 biéjiǎo - shoddy
示意 shìyì - to signal
光溜溜 ɡuānɡliūliū - slippery
葫芦瓢 葫芦 húlupiáo - gourd
绊倒 bàndǎo - to trip over, stumble
戳 chuō - to jab
麻利 máli - dextrous
手绢 shǒujuàn - handkerchief
钟楼 zhōnɡlóu - clock tower
踟蹰 chíchú - to hesitate
抵赖 dǐlài - to disavow
扑朔迷离 pūshuò-mílí - complicated and confusing
交接 jiāojiē - to hand over
天经地义 tiānjīng-dìyì - in line w/the principles of heaven and earth
拐卖 guǎimài - to traffic, kidnap and sell
寸步 cùnbù - a single step

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Okay, read chapters 1-3 yesterday.  No need for me to repeat what others have already said in prior posts.  Looking forward to the story getting under way with 沙丘克 and 盛大中 meeting in the morning.

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