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Notes of a Crocodile
Author	Qiu Miaojin
Original title	鱷魚手記
Language	Chinese
Genre	Taiwanese literature, lesbian literature
Publication date	1994

Notes of a Crocodile (Chinese: 鱷魚手記) is a 1994 Taiwanese novel by writer Qiu Miaojin (邱妙津). It is one of the most significant Taiwanese lesbian novels of the 1990s,^[1] and is also a significant work in Taiwanese literature.^[2] The novel depicts the identity, emotional belonging, and self-exploration of lesbians, and uses the metaphor of a "crocodile" to represent a homosexual who is forced to live in disguise in a society that is dominated by heterosexuals.^[3] The terms "crocodile" and "Lazi" (拉子) in the novel have become self-referential terms for lesbians in Taiwan.^[4]^[5]

Synopsis

Notes of a Crocodile is a collection of eight diaries, told in a double narrative. The odd-numbered chapters are written in the first person in the form of private diaries, describing the university life of the protagonist Lazi and others, as well as their conflicts between self-identity and emotional belonging. The novel is set in Taipei of the late 1980s, post-martial law, detailing Lazi falling in love with a female classmate and befriending many other queer characters.^[6] Through this depiction of love and struggle, and the sincere confession of emotions, the author depicts the psychological predicament of homosexuals in the 1990s, facing their own same-sex love in a society dominated by patriarchy.^[7] The even-numbered chapters are written in the form of monologues by an anthropomorphized crocodile, which satirize and allude to the lonely and oppressed fate of a "sexual deviant" in human society.

Reception

Taiwanese writer Chi Ta-wei (紀大偉) believes that the two storylines do not mutually define each other in a clear way. In general, it is believed that the crocodile symbolizes a lesbian or homosexual who appears to be friendly and shy on the outside, but lonely on the inside.^[5] Literary scholar Tze-Lan Deborah Sang (桑梓蘭) believes that the novel is a blend of realism and animal fables. The author uses montage and jump-cutting techniques to organize the structure, which can be seen as a feature of Notes of a Crocodile.^[8] An English translation of the book by Bonnie Huie was published in May of 2017 by the New York Review Books as part of their NYRB Classics series, which The New York Times described as "nothing short of remarkable."^[6]

Reference

^ Tsai, Chih-chen (2017). "同志悲歌及其純愛：論邱妙津《鱷魚手記》、《蒙馬特遺書》的動物意象、性別政治與情感象徵" [Homosexuals Tragedy and Spiritual Love: The Animal Image, Gender Politics and Symbolic Affect in Notes of a Crocodile and Last Words from Montmartre by Qiu Miaojin] (PDF). Journal of National Taichung University of Education: Humanities and Arts (31). Taichung: 43–57.
^ Chen, Fang-ming (2011). 台灣新文學史 [A History of Modern Taiwan Literature]. Linking Publishing Company. pp. 617–618.
^ Chu, Wei-cheng (2001). "鱷魚手記》導讀" [Introduction to 'Notes of a Crocodile']. Literary Taiwan (39): 161–164.
^ Lin, Pei-ling (2011). "依違於中心與邊陲之間─論邱妙津作品中的女同志文化菁英氣質與性別邊緣位置" [Negotiating Between Center and Periphery: The Elite Cultural Traits and Gender Marginality in Qiu Miaojin's Works on Lesbian Culture]. Journal of Women's and Gender Studies (28): 107–131.
^ ^a ^b Chi, Ta-wei (2017). 同志文學史：台灣的發明 [A Queer Invention in Taiwan: A History of Tongzhi Literature]. Taipei: Linking Publishing Company. p. 403.
^ ^a ^b Core, Leopoldine (May 5, 2017). "A Taiwanese Classic Now Available in English". The New York Times. Retrieved Jan 10, 2024.
^ Hsu, Pei-Yu (2017). 妙津女同志小說中「我」的告白——以《鱷魚手記》及《蒙馬特遺書》為主 [Confession in the Lesbian Fiction by Qiu Miao-Jin: the Perspective of “The Crocodile Note” and “Last Words from Montmartre"]. Graduate Institute of Chinese Literature, Tamkang University. pp. 19–22.
^ Sang, Tze-Lan Deborah (2015). 浮現中的女同性戀：現代中國的女同性愛欲 [The Emerging Lesbian: Female Same-. Sex Desire in Modern China]. Taipei: National Taiwan University Press. pp. 287–304.