Review of Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Maojin

*Notes of a Crocodile* by Qiu Maojin, translated by Bonnie Hue (1994; republished 2017). Published by NYRB Classics.

If you’re new here, and stumbled upon this blog through the mythical powers of the Internet, welcome! I know a lot of visitors to my website are people who randomly come upon this website through search engines like Google, but I also do have a lot of visitors who come back. Regardless: my name is Ashley, and I started this blog in order to keep track of everything I’m coming across in the world.

I recently fell into a spell of unemployment probably during the worst time to be unemployed, as it was very hard to find a job. I was applying to hundreds of jobs, getting interviews, but no offer was manifesting for me in the near future. So during this time, I had a lot of free time, and spent a good chunk of it chipping away at the blog.

As a book blogger, something I’ve always been super clear about and dedicated towards promoting are local libraries. I know having access to a good library is a privilege, and there are countries where people don’t really have access to books at all. I am so grateful every day that I have access to a decent library system, especially in today’s world.

Especially as I am unemployed, I’ve been going to my local library and checking out books and movies to play on my DVD player. I’ve been watching all the somewhat new releases as they hit the DVD system at my library, which has been fantastic considering I don’t need to pay for AMC A List at my local movie theater chain anymore.

I go to the library almost every week and check out all the new arrivals and anything that catches my eye among the regular fiction and nonfiction shelves. Today’s blog post is about a book I requested to be shipped to my library though, as it’s something I’ve been wanting to read.

I’ve known about Notes of a Crocodile for a long time, but I never got around to reading it. I’ve been talented at procrastination in so many different ways throughout my life, but because my TBR list perpetually has other 2,000 books on it, I tend to just read whatever I’m vibing with in the moment.

I read this in one sitting once it arrived. It’s not too long of a book, so I read it fairly quickly by my standards. Let’s get into the review!

Our narrator, Lazi, is coming of age in a queer community in Taiwan during the 1980s.

As mentioned above, the main character of this novel is Lazi, whose actual name we don’t know. She’s a lesbian in Taiwan during the 1980s, right after the country is coming out of martial law. Taiwan during this time is completely different than the one we know, as gay rights are more commonly accepted now, but back then, our narrator sees it as living like a crocodile.

Lazi is a young woman also at the cusp of change in this moment of time in her life, as she’s a young adult learning about her sexuality along with being a college student at a prestigious school in Taiwan. While she’s also figuring out what she wants to do with her life from this moment on, Lazi is going through many of the motions of young adulthood.

A main plot point is her attraction to an older woman named Shui Ling, although this attraction can be one-sided at times and isn’t going to end the way that Lazi wants it to. She kind of knows this, as her journal entries and musings are largely about the fact that this is going to be the one who got away.

At the same time, we see quite a bit about Lazi’s eccentric friend group. Some are queer, others are not, but each character has a story to tell too, although we’re seeing it solely from Lazi’s perspective. I would love to see this novel in a third person perspective, too, just to learn more about everyone.

Mistakes are to be made throughout the course of this novel as well, such as when one of Lazi’s friends has an on and off relationship with a lover that’s not too healthy. You can kind of get the sense that no one really knows what they’re doing at this point of their life, as some of the dynamics going on here, beyond this one friend and their lover, show some immaturity and can be a tad toxic in many different ways.

Regardless, it’s really interesting to read about queer culture in Taiwan during the 1980s, especially as this isn’t a perspective shown in Western media. I feel like even modern day Taiwan is underrepresented beyond the conflicts with the PRC on American media, and I’ve barely read Taiwanese writers. I think I definitely want to read more in the future, that’s for sure.

Overall Thoughts

I enjoyed this novel overall. I can see how others might find it not to their taste, though, especially considering it largely deals with journal entries and can be something that feels like vignettes strung together. I’m fine with that writing style, and I feel like it worked for this novel especially.

One of the novel’s biggest strengths though is how fleshed out Lazi is as a character. This was the first time I read any work from Qiu Maojin, and while she did not have much writing published at the time of her death (she committed suicide at age 26), I selfishly wish I could read more of her writing and perspective. The writing in this novel is truly fantastic!

As messy at it was at times, I was rooting for these characters and wanted to see more. So, in the end, my verdict is that if you’re interested in what the novel has to say with its characters, then pick it up and give it a chance. You might love it, you might not—but try to read it first.

Follow me below on Instagram, Goodreads, and Letterboxd for more.