Rose, Rose, I Love You

Much of the charm of this ribald, scandalous little Taiwanese social satire lies in the narrative voice: sly, mocking, sarcastic but also endearingly familiar and vernacular. This brilliant translation conveys all that and even preserves the ubiquitous wordplay of the original through cleverly chosen parallel American idioms. (This is the first novel of Wang Chen-ho, one of Taiwan's best-known writers, to be translated into English.) Dong Siwen, a pedantic high-school teacher, flatulent and fat, has been retained by his corrupt politician friend, Councilman Quian, to teach a crew of prostitutes a bit of English in order to make some money off American GIs on R&R from Vietnam. Skewered here are the obsequious dependence of the Taiwanese on American dollars and a society that can countenance the lewdest and most mercenary activities wherever money is involved (the orientation of the prostitute recruits takes place, of course, in a church hall). Occasionally, the patter goes on too long, but by and large this is a wild, pointed romp from start to finish. (May)