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Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch is a novel by Dai Sijie
published in 2003. The French title of the novel is a play on "le complexe d'Oedipe", or "the Oedipus complex
". The novel was translated into English in 2005 by Ina Rilke under the name Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch.
to rescue his university sweetheart. His sweetheart is referred to as "Volcano of the Old Moon" (the characters of her family name represent "old" and "moon" and her given name is composed of the characters for "fire" and "mountain"), while her actual name is never revealed, her initials are H.C. In a similar fashion to Jane Gallagher in The Catcher in the Rye
, Volcano of the Old Moon never makes an appearance in the book, but is thought of often by Muo. The story is not always told chronologically; as in the case of stating where Muo is, then later telling how he got there. The book also switches into the point of view of Muo by use of his journal entries or letters, but is otherwise written in the third person.
Dai Sijie
Dai Sijie is a French author and filmmaker of Chinese ancestry.-Biography:Dai Sijie was born in China in 1954. Because he came from an educated middle-class family, the Maoist government sent him to a reeducation camp in rural Sichuan from 1971 to 1974, during the Cultural Revolution. After his...
published in 2003. The French title of the novel is a play on "le complexe d'Oedipe", or "the Oedipus complex
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...
". The novel was translated into English in 2005 by Ina Rilke under the name Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch.
Plot introduction
The book follows Muo, a French psychoanalyst, returning to ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to rescue his university sweetheart. His sweetheart is referred to as "Volcano of the Old Moon" (the characters of her family name represent "old" and "moon" and her given name is composed of the characters for "fire" and "mountain"), while her actual name is never revealed, her initials are H.C. In a similar fashion to Jane Gallagher in The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
, Volcano of the Old Moon never makes an appearance in the book, but is thought of often by Muo. The story is not always told chronologically; as in the case of stating where Muo is, then later telling how he got there. The book also switches into the point of view of Muo by use of his journal entries or letters, but is otherwise written in the third person.