41 First Loves

Name: 41 First Loves
ISBN: 9787550216563

余晓熠Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. · ChinaMay 2015

3.7

Word count: 105K words
Chapters: 42
ISBN: 9787550216563

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Summary

The motive for writing this series was pure and simple: I just had some stories I wanted to tell one person. If that person enjoyed them, I was happy — beyond that, I had no ambition at all. Yet the writing process gave me a fluency I had never felt before. I like to think of words as vectors: without someone you long to pour your heart out to, no magnitude can find a place to rest. A word's fate is sealed the moment it leaves the nib of the pen — it no longer belongs to its writer. It always has a world to offer itself to: a heaven and earth, a group, a soul.

Editor's review

First Love 41 Times is a short story collection built around the act of confiding. In her author's note, Yu Xiaoyi admits that her motivation for writing was utterly simple: some stories she simply wanted to tell to one person, and if that person liked them, she felt happy—no other ambition. Because of this unpolished sincerity, the prose throughout the book has a rare fluency, like a late-night conversation rather than a deliberate literary performance. Recurring phrases such as "words are vectors" and "fate is something offered to a patch of sky and earth, to a community, to a single soul" reveal the author's clear-eyed understanding of what writing is—once you set down the words, you hand them over; the work, once finished, no longer belongs to the writer. This stance makes the stories less about showing off technique and more about plain honesty, well suited to being dipped into in fragments—on the commute, before sleep. Readers need not chase dramatic plot; instead they should notice the warmth between the lines, the sense of "wanting to say this to someone." For readers who habitually look for resonance in prose and prefer light narrative and emotional drift, this book feels more like a letter copied out again and again than a carefully designed novel.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short story collections and prefer light narrative and emotional drift
Literary readers moved by questions of why one writes and the nature of language
Readers who want a few easy stories in fragmented time, without demanding strong plot
Readers who like narratives that unfold in a confiding, intimate voice

Not a good fit for

Genre-fiction readers seeking strong conflict, complex plotting, and tight structure
Readers who want a complete full-length narrative and dislike fragmented expression
Readers who feel alienated by the author's private, confiding voice and prefer objective narration

Reading tips

Keep the book by your bed or in your bag and read one or two pieces at a time; there is no need to read straight through.
Read the author's note first to understand the motivation of "telling one person," then enter the stories.
Mark lines that move you as you go; afterward, revisit those marks and reflect on what it means for words to be "vectors."
Treat the stories as prompts and try writing a passage of your own that you would want to say to someone.

About the publisher

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 1993

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. is a publisher known for its literature and history titles, with 2,065 books in the collection. Its publishing covers foreign literature, contemporary Chinese prose and essays, history, folk literature, and cultural books. Its list ranges from Sima Qian's complete edition of the Records of the Grand Historian to foreign classics such as The Book of Disquiet, All Quiet on the Western Front, Snow Country, The Stranger, and Jean-Christophe, as well as modern Chinese works including Teahouse and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. Its authors and translators include Yasunari Kawabata, Fernando Pessoa, Erich Maria Remarque, Jin Xinyi, Zhou Miao, and Chen Chao. Public information is limited, but its catalogue reflects a balance between Chinese and foreign literary classics and historical and cultural works.

版权信息
花
脸
家
伞灵
童年
做风筝的人
谋杀
异乡人
大山
西施
笔仙
命运
屌丝战争
卡门
芦柑公主
上上签
凤凰
囚牢
火
回春
离别
地下铁
画妖
爱
银河
雨和雪
姐妹
美食
赌局
飞翔
孤独
地图
水知道
声
Miracle
送信的少年
传染
谣言
童真
清明
风

FAQ

Is this a novel or a short story collection?

Judging from the author's account of how she wrote and her statement that "there are some stories I wanted to tell to one person," the book is closer to a series of short stories than to a novel with continuous plot. You can enter each piece independently without worrying about continuity.

What does the author mean by "words are vectors"?

The author uses "vector" to suggest that words have both magnitude and direction: without someone you urgently want to confide in, even the greatest magnitude has nowhere to go. That is, the value of words lies not only in how well they are written but in whom they are directed toward and offered to. This idea runs through the book and is key to understanding the author's stance.

Do I need to know the author's background before reading?

No. The author's note already makes her motivation clear—she simply wanted to tell stories to one person. Readers can go straight into the stories without relying on biography or a chronology of her work, and will find it easier to feel that unguarded sense of confiding.

Is it suitable for reading in one sitting?

Not really. The stories are driven by emotion and confiding, and reading them all at once can be tiring and cause you to miss details. It is better to read one or two at a time and leave room for them to linger, letting the words be opened slowly, like letters.

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About the author

余晓熠 Author

Public information about Yu Xiaoyi is limited, and what can be confirmed mainly concerns their identity as a writer and their work. According to the library's holdings, Yu Xiaoyi is the author of First Love 41 Times, a book categorized as youth literature and currently the only known representative work by this author. The title, with its cumulative use of numbers, suggests an accumulation of emotional experience and hints that the book may explore adolescent romance, coming-of-age memories, and emotional awakening, carrying the blend of lightness and melancholy typical of youth literature. Because no more detailed biography, chronology of works, or interviews are available, it is difficult to determine whether the author's writing extends to other subjects, and basic details such as nationality and dates of birth and death remain unknown. On the available evidence, Yu Xiaoyi's creative profile awaits further works and materials, and readers can gain an initial sense of the author's approach and tone in youthful emotional narrative through First Love 41 Times.