A Translation and Critical Reading of Fae Myenne Ng’s Bone:

• Main Authors: Yan-jing Zhou, 周延靜
• Other Authors: Hsiao-hung Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/85661597993134548417

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 外國語文學系研究所 === 89 === Fae Myenne Ng’s first novel Bone tells the story of a Chinese American family living in San Francisco’s Chinatown. In an interview with Susannah Hunnewell, she professes that her motivations and goals of writing this novel are to tell the story of those oldtimers who do not have the comfort of family, and to show her love and thankfulness for her parents. This study does not intend to doubt the author’s proclamation. After carefully reading this novel, however, I find that she only gives meager sketches to those oldtimers. The tensional relationship between the narrator Leila and her parents shows that what is expressed through the novel-writing is more than just love, respect and gratitude. Thus, there seems to be some inconsistencies between the author’s declaration and the real performance of the novel. In addition to translating the whole novel into Chinese, this study starts with the inconsistencies mentioned above. It will try to examine and analyze the relationship between the narrator and the oldtimers and her parents. The focus will mainly put on the touch-and-go parent-child relationship. From the tensional parent-child relationship, I would infer that besides her proclamation, there is still something else hidden behind the narration. And this study attempts to excavate the hidden and unsaid.