by Brian Hioe
語言:
English
Photo credit: Book Cover
SYAMAN RAPONGAN’S Eyes of the Sky proves the latest work by the noted Indigenous author to be translated into English. Following up on the translation of his Eyes of the Ocean, roughly a prose bildungsroman of Rapongan’s early life, Eyes of the Sky serves to further elaborate the “oceanic world” of the Tao.
Eyes of the Sky can be situated within the larger contours of Taiwanese eco-writing, insofar as Rapongan’s work draws on both human and non-human perspectives. In particular, Rapongan features both Tao characters–some resembling Rapongan himself or those around him–as well as storytellers that refer to themselves as fish, who co-exist with the Tao, and are both their ancestors and are fished by them as part of life.
Rapongan excels in shifting between these multiple perspectives, as well as integrating the contours of his setting into his work. Rather than overwhelm with a plethora of historical or sociological detail, Rapongan integrates the biographical details of contemporary Tao people into the tapestry of the broader work. Largely, this is done in an ensemble fashion, by way of a Tao family on Orchid Island relating their experiences.
At the same time, it is probably the distinctively non-human scenes that distinguish the most in Eyes of the Sky. The start of the book is with a dream-like, fantastical underwater odyssey taken by Rapongan with an elderly fish. A later chapter that features a journey through the ocean with an elderly fish that lost his wife to a fisherman is also evocative.
The Tao language features heavily in Rapongan’s writing, serving to convey the Tao worldview and the distinctions made within the Tao life-world. Even if he offers footnotes and explanatory detail, Rapongan is able to avoid lengthy exposition in this way, crafting a streamlined and elegant narrative.
Perhaps more than Eyes of the Ocean, given the former’s autobiographical thrust, Eyes of the Sky serves to unfold the intricacies of Rapongan’s writing–a thing of beauty. Eyes of the Sky is a must-read for anyone who hopes to engage with Rapongan’s writing, as one of Taiwan’s leading contemporary writers.