A Lover’s Discourse by Xiaolu Guo

Vintage

9781529112481

288pp

I’d heard of Roland Barthes before, but I had very little idea of his philosophy and works. A Lover’s Discourse, vaguely aligned to Barthes’ work of the same name, tells the story of a Chinese woman in London post-Brexit, and her relationship with a German-Australian man as they try to navigate the city, the West, and Brexit, as well as their own love.

Each chapter opens with a short piece of conversation, which the chapter then goes on to contextualise. I liked this, as it made me want to read on and discover the meaning of the conversation. The short chapters made for nice vignettes that you could dip in and out of without too much trouble. The subject itself, a deeply philosophical story, made for excellent reading as well. It captured the uncertainty of Brexit, the fish-out-of-water feeling of being alone in another country, and the frustrations of a relationship.

Some of the miscommunications were amusing; a misunderstanding of a place name, or the difficulty of translating a feeling in a word. But for the most part, I found this to be a sad story. The woman at the heart of it is confused and afraid and so very alone, even when in a relationship. The only time she feels at home is when she visits a village in China as part of her doctoral research. The story is stifling in its proximity to her emotions, and you end up feeling sad and alone too.

There is beauty, but there is heartbreak, too. I don’t like the man she falls in love with; he feels too hard for her, who is soft and gentle. She is full of whimsy and longing and hope, whereas he feels much more disengaged and negative. The ending, therefore, was disappointing for me, because I so wanted her to find her place (perhaps on her own), and yet she bends to his will so easily.

Guo is a beautiful writer, and I’d be eager to read more, but the ending was not neatly tied up (when is it ever, in real life, I suppose) and it left me feeling cheated. I wanted the woman’s hope to win, and when it doesn’t, I felt it was a let down.

Guo has a new book coming out (Call Me Ishamaelle) that I’m intrigued to read. It’s a retelling of Moby Dick from the point of view of a cross-dressing sailor. She has also written a triptych of memoirs, which also seem interesting. Guo is a brilliant writer, but I wonder if this is not her best work.