Fiction as an Exercise in Sabotage

Xiaolu Guo’s article Fiction as an Exercise in Sabotage was recently published in Words Without Borders.

“I have one passport, a British one. Unfortunately, it is less useful than it used to be. Before that I had a Chinese passport, which was even less useful when it came to passing through borders. That’s why I hate borders.

After I left China for Europe, and after proving to the authorities that I was a worthy recipient, I gained a new passport, burying the old one. I learned a new tongue, and I set myself to writing a new kind of fiction. I know that fiction is freer than reality, but it is not boundless like the ocean. It seeks freedom by creating a narrative order through which to express itself. Fiction is also an exercise, attacking the idea that borders can or should be patrolled.”

Read more here.