Li, Xiaofan Amy;
(2025)
Neo-Surrealism in Hong Kong: The Fiction of Hon Lai-chu and Dorothy Tse.
Journal of Modern Literature
, 48
(3)
pp. 94-112.
10.2979/jml.00086.
Preview |
Text
Li_Neo-Surrealism in Hong Kong-27sept2023.pdf Download (535kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Although the fiction of Hong Kong writers Hon Lai-chu and Dorothy Tse Hiu-hung are frequently described as “surreal,” does this term have critical purchase beyond its misleading vernacular use for anything that appears bizarre and fantastical? In Hon’s Empty Faces and Tse’s Owlish, Surrealism proves to be deeply relevant to both writers. Surrealist visuality prioritizes the novels’ literariness and resists reading Hong Kong literature as political allegory. The precarious human face in Hon and the uncanny doll figure in Tse re-enact surreal experiences of disquietude and liminality. While neither novel embraces explicit political stances, both disrupt established lines of thinking and are profoundly relevant to Hong Kong and global issues including neo-liberalism, security, and surveillance. These novels signal the emergence of the Hong Kong neo-Surreal, which highlights imaginaries of risk and affirms Hong Kong literature as world literature.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Neo-Surrealism in Hong Kong: The Fiction of Hon Lai-chu and Dorothy Tse |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.2979/jml.00086 |
| Publisher version: | https://dx.doi.org/10.2979/jml.00086 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Hon Lai-chu, Dorothy Tse Hiu-hung, Hong Kong literature, neo-Surrealism, world literature |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > SELCS |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10182430 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
