Synopsis In this social satire, a dorky Taiwanese high school teacher is hired to teach English to a group of prostitutes so that they can service American soldiers on R&R in Taiwan during the Vietnam War.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-05-01 | | Series: | Modern Literature from Taiwan |
| Size | | Length: | 183 pages | | Height: | 9.5 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 16.0 oz |
Publisher's Note In this lively translation of Wang Chen-ho's ribald satire, a Taiwanese village loses all perspective - and common sense - at the prospect of fleecing a shipload of lusty and lonely American soldiers. A rotund, excitable high school English teacher receives word that 300 GIs are coming from Vietnam for a weekend of R & R. He persuades the owners of the Big 4 brothels that they will all take in more U.S. dollars if the pleasure girls can speak a little English; his plan is to train fifty specially selected prostitutes in a "Crash Course for Bar Girls". But what begins as a simple plan to teach a few English phrases quickly becomes absurdly elaborate: courses will include an "Introduction to American Culture", a crash course on global etiquette, and a workshop in personal hygiene taught by Dr. "Venereal" Wang.
Industry Reviews Much of the charm of this ribald, scandalous little Taiwanese social satire lies in the narrative voice: sly, mocking, sarcastic but also endearingly familiar and vernacular. This brilliant translation conveys all that and even preserves the ubiquitous wordplay of the original through cleverly chosen parallel American idioms. (This is the first novel of Wang Chen-ho, one of Taiwan's best-known writers, to be translated into English.) Dong Siwen, a pedantic high-school teacher, flatulent and fat, has been retained by his corrupt politician friend, Councilman Quian, to teach a crew of prostitutes a bit of English in order to make some money off American GIs on R&R from Vietnam. Skewered here are the obsequious dependence of the Taiwanese on American dollars and a society that can countenance the lewdest and most mercenary activities wherever money is involved (the orientation of the prostitute recruits takes place, of course, in a church hall). Occasionally, the patter goes on too long, but by and large this is a wild, pointed romp from start to finish. (May) Lopate
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