Out of Line

Name: Out of Line
ISBN: 9787559464293

Liang Xiaosheng / Jiang Zilong / Qiao YeJiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House2022

3.1

Word count: 161K words
Chapters: 12
ISBN: 9787559464293

Report an error Find this book

Summary

Out of Line is a short story collection created jointly by twelve contemporary writers, including Liang Xiaosheng, Jiang Zilong, and Qiao Ye, edited by Yang Xiaosheng, and published by Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House in 2022. The book collects twelve short stories, including Liang Xiaosheng's "Good Brothers," Qiao Ye's "Bathing Mother," Chang Xiaohu's "Andrographis," Nü Zhen's "Encounter Through Food," Xue Shu's "Back Alley," Cai Weixuan's "A Pot of Rainbow Jade," Liu Jiandong's "Delete," Bao Zhuo's "Happy Newlywed," Jiang Zilong's "Peach Blossom Water," A Yuan's "Food Chain," Ma Jinlian's "The Audience," and Qin Jinping's "The Train Speeds On." These works draw on the daily lives of ordinary families, writing about brotherly bonds, children caring for their mothers, suspicion and testing between spouses, and the push and pull among neighbors and relatives, while also depicting the moment when people suddenly step "out of line" amid life's trivialities—those actions, thoughts, and choices that exceed the normal track. The stories present emotional whirlpools and subtle human nature from an ordinary person's perspective, retaining warmth and worldly flavor within dramatic conflict. The collection is regarded as a concentrated showcase of realist short story writing in contemporary literature; it suits reading one piece at a time in spare moments, and readers can also savor the different linguistic textures and narrative pleasures of each writer.

Editor's review

十二位作家，十二个短篇，主题却出奇地统一：都是普通人在最日常的生活里，忽然偏离了常轨的那一下。梁晓声写兄弟之间的情分与计较，蒋子龙写水边人事，乔叶写女儿为母亲洗澡时的耐心与心酸，写法各不相同，落点却都在人情上。这本书的好处在于“短”与“实”。每篇几千到一万多字，节奏紧凑，出场人物不多，但每个人都有来处、有私心、有说不出口的软处；读者不必一口气读完，睡前读一篇也不会被情节捆住，却常在合书之后想到身边某个熟人。主编杨晓升长期主持《北京文学》，选篇眼光偏向扎实的写实路子，语言不炫技，情绪却压得住。书中几篇也带着轻微的荒诞感与反讽，比如把日常人际写成一环扣一环的“食物链”，或者让一场吃饭变成命运的转折。对久读长篇感到疲倦的读者，这类短篇集是一种轻负担但有余味的选择；同时它也可当作一份当代中短篇作家的抽样，看到几代作家处理同一种题材时的不同笔法。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢汪曾祺、迟子建一类写实短篇的读者
想利用通勤、睡前零碎时间读小说的人
写作课或读书会上想逐篇讨论文本的学习者
关注当代中短篇小说创作面貌的文学爱好者

Not a good fit for

习惯强情节、悬疑反转或快节奏爽文的读者
更偏爱科幻、奇幻等类型小说的人
期待单一线索长篇叙事和完整人物成长线的读者

Reading tips

各篇相互独立，可按目录顺序读，也可先挑自己熟悉的作家切入。
每读完一篇停一停，回想身边是否出现过类似的“出格”时刻，阅读感受会更深。
可配合作家其他代表作对照阅读，体会同一题材在不同作家笔下的处理差异。
朗读其中对话密集的篇目，更容易感到这些小说的口语节奏与生活质感。

About the publisher

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.

Good Brothers (Liang Xiaosheng)
Bathing Mother (Qiao Ye)
Andrographis (Chang Xiaohu)
Encounter Through Food (Nü Zhen)
Back Alley (Xue Shu)
A Pot of Rainbow Jade (Cai Weixuan)
Delete (Liu Jiandong)
Happy Newlywed (Bao Zhuo)
Peach Blossom Water (Jiang Zilong)
Food Chain (A Yuan)
The Audience (Ma Jinlian)
The Train Speeds On (Qin Jinping)

FAQ

《出格》是长篇小说还是短篇集？

是短篇小说集，收录梁晓声、蒋子龙、乔叶等十二位作家的十二篇短篇小说，由杨晓升主编，各篇彼此独立，没有连续情节。

这本书的主编是谁？

主编为杨晓升，曾任《北京文学》社长兼执行主编，长期从事文学编辑与写作，本书选篇由其主持编选。

书名“出格”指什么？

全书围绕普通人生活中越出常轨的瞬间展开：一次冲动的决定、一句没说出口的话、一段越界的关系。篇中人物大多平凡，却都在某刻偏离惯性，书名由此而来。

没读过这些作家的作品，能直接读吗？

完全可以。各篇篇幅短、人物少、语言直白，不依赖前作背景，作为当代短篇的入门读物较为友好，读完再回溯各作家的长篇代表作也合适。

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Liang Xiaosheng Author · Chinese · 1949

Liang Xiaosheng is a contemporary Chinese writer, born in 1949 in Harbin, with ancestral roots in Rongcheng, Shandong. His original name is Liang Shaosheng. In 1968 he went to the Great Northern Wilderness as a sent-down youth, and in 1977 he graduated from the Chinese Department of Fudan University. He later worked as an editor at the Beijing Film Studio and as a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University. Known for his novels about educated youth, he draws much of his material from his years in the Great Northern Wilderness and from the lives of ordinary people. His plain, substantial style intertwines personal fate with social change. His representative works include *Tonight There Is a Snowstorm*, *Snow City*, *The Ring of Years*, and *The Human World*; in 2019 he received the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize. His writing also touches on themes of inspiration and personal growth and has reached a wide readership.

Jiang Zilong Author · China · 1941

Jiang Zilong, born in August 1941 in Cangxian, Hebei, is a contemporary Chinese writer regarded as the founder and representative author of "reform literature." He served as vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association for its fifth, sixth, and seventh terms, and as chairman of the Tianjin Writers Association. His work consists mainly of social fiction and prose, with representative titles including Manager Qiao Assumes Office, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, The Snake God, and Peasant Empire. His fiction focuses on the real conflicts of industry and reform, portraying enterprising grassroots managers in a vigorous, lucid style that pioneered reform-themed writing and deeply influenced contemporary literature, while his essays draw on everyday life and reveal thought in plain detail. Four of his works are included in this collection.

Qiao Ye Author · Chinese · 1972

Qiao Ye, born in 1972 in Xiuwu, Henan, under the real name Li Qiaoyan, is a contemporary Chinese writer. She is a professional writer at the Beijing Lao She Literary Academy and vice chair of the Beijing Writers Association. Her works include The Slowest Thing Is Living, The Confession, and Bao Shui; she received the Lu Xun Literary Prize in 2010 and the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2023 for Bao Shui, and her writing has been translated into several languages. Her work spans essays and miscellaneous prose, modern romance, and social fiction. Three of her books are carried here: Which Mountain the Sun Fell On (When We Were Children), She Was Once an Angel, and Out of Line. Her subjects move from personal memory and emotional writing to observations of social reality, with delicate prose that attends closely to inner life and everyday detail.