The Taiwanese writer Wu Ming-Yi (Taipei, 1971), one of the most anticipated guests of the Festival 42 of fantastic genres, is walking around Barcelona these days to talk about his work L'home dels ulls composdos, recently translated into Catalan. An eco-fiction influenced by nature, the climate crisis and the myths of his country.
His book is in itself an environmental complaint.
I know. But when I started writing it, I didn't have that intention.
What was it then?
He was trying to describe in words what he had just seen on television. I didn't know about the big island of garbage floating in the Pacific. I heard they were talking about it in 2005 and when I saw pictures of it it hit me.
And then he started writing.
That same day. The garbage vortex was then moving near Taiwan and for that reason I wrote a story about it.
The novel was originally published in 2009, but its content is more relevant than ever.
It's funny, because the years go by and it's translated into more and more languages.
You could say it raises awareness.
I don't think a novel can have such a big impact on an environmental scale. But I do aspire for the younger generations to ask themselves questions. After all, they will inherit the planet.
And which planet will they have left?
More and more countries are taking action. In Taiwan, for example, laws related to the environment are stricter and there is more international research on the issue of marine pollution. I just hope it's not too late.
Why does he say that?
Because there are more and more weather disasters happening because of climate change. I narrate a few in the book, but over the years it seems that there are more. In the case of Taiwan, the summers are longer and sweltering and the typhoons much more virulent and dangerous.
And, according to the novel, there are many earthquakes.
There have always been, and that's why I didn't want to stop putting them in the novel. There are every week, and a year, more than a hundred are higher than level 4 on the Richter scale.
Now that you see how the climate crisis is progressing, if you were to write this book again, would it be more apocalyptic?
I just published another novel in Taiwan that is also environmentally conscious, and readers have told me that the characters are much more negative.
It was also negative when in this book he sent the second children of the family to die in the ocean because there were not enough resources.
Seen like this, I was negative. But I wanted to bring it up more as an adventurous person. I don't actually kill them all. The idea came about because it caught my attention how many populations live with birth restrictions.
What is your opinion about it?
The best-known case is that of China, which imposed the one-child policy. But it was a disaster because many families wanted a man, and since they could only have one son, they killed the girls. And now there is a very big difference between the number of men and women.
This is terrible.
Yes, but in Taiwan I don't think we face this dilemma. Today it is the country with the lowest birth rate in the whole world.
Few births and death and suicide, at least in his book, are very present.
The human being is the only species that chooses suicide as an option. There is no other animal that does this and this question has always interested me. Also the perspective of many religions, which place so much value on life, that they punish those who are against it and those around them. What should be done is to listen to the people. I am a professor at the university and there have been several students who have confessed to me that at some point in their lives they have considered this option. I myself confess that I considered it in the past. Why do people sometimes feel this urge? I don't have a concrete answer. Again, I tried to find an answer with writing.
Did you find her?
Not a definitive one, but I have noticed, at least in my experience, that the more responsibilities you have, the more you distance yourself from these negative thoughts. One of the protagonists, Alice, tries to get rid of everything before ending her life, although she forgets about this idea when she catherizes a cat. He feels he has someone to care for and worry about. And she feels loved by this animal. I think both have helped many readers.
Really?
Many people write to me acknowledging that they have been reflected in this situation and that, when they see how Alice endures it, they have applied certain advice to themselves. Sometimes I also get criticism saying that I can cause a domino effect, but generally the messages are appreciative. I think it is important to talk about some issues and that not talking about them will not prevent them from continuing to take place.
Just like China, which doesn't want to hear about Taiwan. He had them with Xi Jinping when he was nominated for the Man Booker.
Before he became president, there were not so many problems between China and Taiwan. When I was nominated and saw my name next to Taiwan's, I was so happy that I shared it on Facebook. It should be a normal thing, but not all countries recognize mine. China, which has a great desire to have the world look towards it, found out and asked that it be rectified. Everything was solved by putting country/region on the label.
Were you comfortable with this change?
Everyone, depending on their opinion, could read Taiwan as a region or a country. For me, Taiwan is a country, mine. But by putting this, China could no longer complain.
Has the controversy brought you any problems?
My books are no longer published in mainland China. But this is so worth it. The real issue that should concern us all is the climate crisis.
