Linda Jaivin
Translator, essayist and novelist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linda Jaivin (born 27 March 1955)[1] is an American-born Australian sinologist, translator and novelist.
Early life
Linda Jaivin was born in New London, Connecticut, to a Jewish family of Russian heritage.[1][2] Her grandfathers were Jewish refugees from Tsarist Russia, who emigrated to Argentina and the United States.[3]
Her interest in China led her to undertake Chinese studies at Brown University in Rhode Island.[4] She moved to Taiwan in 1977 to deepen her knowledge of Chinese culture and language.[5] Moving to Hong Kong in 1979, her first job there was editing textbooks for Oxford University Press. She worked for Asiaweek magazine, where she met the Australian scholar Geremie Barmé, whom she later married.
They returned to Canberra, Australia in 1986.[4] They divorced in 1994.[6] She now lives in Sydney.
Work
Jaivin has written a memoir of her experiences as a translator in China, The Monkey and the Dragon, as well as a number of novels. She co-edited an anthology on dissident writers in China, New Ghosts, Old Dreams: Chinese Rebel Voices with Geremie Barmé, in 1992. Jaivin has contributed to a number of magazines including the Australian magazine of politics and culture, The Monthly. She wrote for the Quarterly Essay Found in Translation: In Praise of a Plural World in November 2013.
She has subtitled many Chinese films, including Farewell my Concubine and The Grandmaster.[7]
Jaivin has been a guest on the ABC radio program The Book Show[8] and a panelist on Q&A and other programs.[9][10]
Bibliography
Novels
| Year | Title | Imprint | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Eat Me | Vintage Books | ISBN 9781784702748 |
| 1996 | Rock 'n' Roll Babes from Outer Space | Text Publishing | ISBN 9781921799938 |
| 2006 | The Infernal Optimist | Fourth Estate | ISBN 9780732282752 |
| 2009 | A Most Immoral Woman | HarperCollins | ISBN 9780730445975 |
| 2012 | Dead Sexy: The Wicked Story | Text Publishing | ISBN 9781921799952 |
| 2014 | The Empress Lover | Fourth Estate | ISBN 9780732291273 |
| Miles Walker, You're Dead | St. Martin's Griffin | ISBN 9781466882379 |
Non-fiction
| Year | Title | Imprint | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Monkey and the Dragon: A True Story About Friendship, Music, Politics and Life on the Edge | Text Publishing | ISBN 1876485914 |
| 2012 | Confessions of an S & M Virgin | ISBN 9781921799945 | |
| 2013 | Found in Translation: In Praise of a Plural World | Black, Inc. | ISBN 9781863956307 |
| 2014 | Beijing | Reaktion Books | ISBN 9781780232614 |
| 2021 | The Shortest History of China | Black Inc. | ISBN 9781760641122 |
| 2025 | Bombard the Headquarters! : The Cultural Revolution in China | Old Street Publishing | ISBN 9781913083946 |
- Jaivin, Linda (August 2014). "The rising tide of narcissism". Arts & Letters. Books. The Monthly. 103: 50–51. Retrieved 22 April 2020. Review of Anne Manne's The Life of I.
Films (as sub-titler)
- Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige, 1993).
- Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002).
- The Grandmaster (Wong Kar-wai, 2013).
