[Reading Notes] Seeing the cruelty of life at the bottom with the eyes of innocence - "The Electric Walker"

When the days are miserable, I look up at the pigeons flying in the sky and the high-voltage wires that crisscross the sky. I thought that one day I would step on the staggered high voltage electricity and leave the town, but then I learned that high voltage electricity doesn't lead to anywhere but death.

Children are often regarded as a symbol of innocence, but "innocence" is often like a magnifying glass, with the ability to enhance various emotions such as sadness, sadness, fear, joy and so on. Just like in horror films, children are often used as the incarnation of "horror", which makes the image more shocking and creepy; the tragedy in reality, through "children's words", can also make people feel particularly sad. And "The Electric Walker" is one such work.

The assembled author Li Yiting has won the Taipei Literature Award, Dagou Literature Award, Religious Literature Award, Lin Rongsan Literature Award, Times Literature Award and other award-winning works. The protagonists of the 12 stories published in 2017 are mostly from the bottom. And almost all of them are "care recipients". In self-reporting, they described their life experiences and their observations of "adults". Through their "naive" eyes and tone, the cruelty and dark side of the real world are even more speechless.

I didn't go to school, and when I was old enough to go to school, the aunt next door frowned and said to her husband in front of me, "A-shui's son Cha is so pitiful, the whole family is in chaos, As a result, I couldn't apply for a household registration, nor could I go to school." Only then did I know that I had reached the age when I should go to school.

To be honest, I didn’t really understand this novel when I first read it, and I didn’t understand the author’s ingenious writing until I recently reorganized the bookcase and read it again (including the preface). Whether it is the absurd dialogue between the protagonist and the caregiver, the plot that cannot be properly stated because of ignorance of the world, various crimes and tragedies including theft, smuggling, incest, death, etc. are all woven into lines under the filter of "innocence". Password that needs to be re-disassembled. After reading it, I also understand why "The Electric Walker" is called a "seemingly innocent horror novel."

I asked Dad, doesn't he feel sick? He replied, "There is nothing in this world that is more disgusting than having no money."

In addition to being poor and often living under one roof with crime, the characters have something in common. Although they always see a way out, they are often trapped somewhere, just like the author's autobiographical work "Lucky Girl" in the last chapter. , trapped in the very "lucky" life of women. Although it is said to be 12 works, the stories of "Electric Man" seem to be variations on the same basis. the bottom life.