Linda Jaivin (born 27 March 1955)The Bibliography of Australian Literature: F–J. Retrieved 19 December 2013. Note: Jaivin has advised of a typographical error: "27 May" should read "27 March". This agrees with a statement made on her own website: 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.Bio , author's web site Her grandfathers were Jewish refugees from Tsarist Russia, who emigrated to Argentina and the United States.Linda Jaivin, "Inspiration from behind the wire", The Age, 6 May 2006, p. 14
Her interest in China led her to undertake Chinese studies at Brown University in Rhode Island. She moved to Taiwan in 1977 to deepen her knowledge of Chinese culture and language.Nikki Barrowclough, "Made in China", The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 August 2001, Good Weekend, p. 35 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.Linda Morris, Interview with Linda Jaivin, The Age, 12 April 2014, Spectrum, p. 30 They divorced in 1994.Georgina Safe, "Adventures of a literary voyeur", The Weekend Australian, 18–19 September 1999, Review, p. 10 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.
Jaivin has been a guest on the ABC radio program The Book ShowThe Book Show, ABC Radio National and a panelist on Q&A and other programs.China: Jianying Zha, Linda Jaivin and Paul French (television interview)Party Time: Living and Working in China (television interview)
Bibliography
Novels Year Title Imprint ISBN1995Eat MeVintage Books1996Rock 'n' Roll Babes from Outer SpaceText Publishing2006The Infernal OptimistFourth Estate2009A Most Immoral WomanHarperCollins2012Dead Sexy: The Wicked Story Text Publishing2014 The Empress Lover Fourth Estate Miles Walker, You're DeadSt. Martin's Griffin
Non-fiction Year Title Imprint ISBN2001The Monkey and the Dragon: A True Story About Friendship, Music, Politics and Life on the EdgeText Publishing2012Confessions of an S & M Virgin2013Found in Translation: In Praise of a Plural WorldBlack, Inc.2014BeijingReaktion Books2021The Shortest History of ChinaBlack Inc.2025Bombard the Headquarters! : The Cultural Revolution in ChinaOld Street Publishing 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).
References
External links
Jaivin is a member of The Australian Society of Authors