I think our literary tradition has to evolve, has to explore its form and its spirit through writers and thinkers, rather than let the lazy, easy traditional narrative - which is controlled by the publishing industry - roll all over the readers and dominate the market. I think our readers and cinemagoers have been trained to read and watch very mainstream stuff. It's like being given sleeping pills. It sends people to a non-reflective sleep state.
Xiaolu GuoPeople always say it's harder to heal a wounded heart than a wounded body. Bullshit. It's exactly the oppositeโa wounded body takes much longer to heal. A wounded heart is nothing but ashes of memories. But the body is everything. The body is blood and veins and cells and nerves. A wounded body is when, after leaving a man youโve lived with for three years, you curl up on your side of the bed as if thereโs still somebody beside you. That is a wounded body: a body that feels connected to someone who is no longer there.
Xiaolu GuoI thought English is a strange language. Now I think French is even more strange. In France, their fish is poisson, their bread is pain, and their pancake is crepe. Pain and poison and crap. That's what they have every day.
Xiaolu Guo