Above the Earth cover

Above the Earth

Rating 3.4
Word count
190K words
Chapters
34
ISBN
9787520541978

Tags

Summary

This is a novel. Set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it unfolds its narrative in a manner reminiscent of One Hundred Years of Solitude, chronicling the tangled events and relationships between the Su and Yang families in a village in northern Anhui, the bewildering intrigues and truths, and the inextricable bonds of love and hatred. The story follows the younger generations of the two families as they endure a difficult upbringing in the countryside, leave for the city with all its temptations, and go through emotional turmoil, workplace trials, and the shifts of fortune, arriving at endings either fulfilling or reduced to nothing. Through a series of fable-like chapters that are unexpected yet entirely plausible, the novel weaves a moving portrait that delicately depicts human nature, lashes out at the false, the evil, and the ugly, and celebrates the true, the good, and the beautiful.

Editor's review

Centering on the entanglements of the Su and Yang families in a northern Anhui village, Land Above interweaves family history with the larger changes of the times, capturing both the social graces of rural China and the temptations and struggles of urban life after leaving the countryside. The novel employs a fable-like chapter structure in which the plot is often surprising yet entirely plausible, keeping the reader drawn in. The author does not shy away from the dark side in portraying good and evil in human nature, while still leaving room for warmth in genuine feeling and kindness, giving the novel a layer of moral inquiry beyond family grudges. The narrative spans from the late 1970s and early 1980s to the workplace and emotional trials of the younger generation after entering the city. It suits readers interested in rural themes, family sagas, and contemporary full-length novels who wish to read continuously in long stretches, and also serves as a literary introduction to the texture of life in northern Anhui.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Readers who enjoy full-length family sagas with rural themes
  • Literature enthusiasts interested in rural change in the 1970s and 1980s
  • Readers drawn to fable-like structures and multi-threaded narratives
  • Readers hoping to learn about the human texture and everyday life of northern Anhui through fiction

Not a good fit for

  • Readers who prefer fast-paced, plot-driven books and lack patience for long development
  • Readers sensitive to depictions of family grudges and the darker side of human nature
  • Researchers seeking rigorous local gazetteers or sociological data

Reading tips

  1. Begin by clarifying the main relationships between the Su and Yang families; jot down generations and connections as you read.
  2. Read continuously at the pace of the chapters; the fable-like chapters echo one another, and skimming may cause you to miss foreshadowing.
  3. When you reach the section where the younger generation enters the city, watch for the contrast between rural and urban experience.

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一章 位寺村
  3. 第二章 祸从天降
  4. 第三章 死葬
  5. 第四章 村里的暗室
  6. 第五章 初遇
  7. 第六章 世外高人
  8. 第七章 吃“百家饭”的孩子
  9. 第八章 亲情与爱情
  10. 第九章 苦难与理想
  11. 第十章 尊严是什么
  12. 第十一章 火灾
  13. 第十二章 大英雄
  14. 第十三章 伤离别
  15. 第十四章 悲伤的叹息
  16. 第十五章 何处话悲凉
  17. 第十六章 进城
  18. 第十七章 报应
  19. 第十八章 遇见大麻烦
  20. 第十九章 感恩的心
  21. 第二十章 人生若只如初见
  22. 第二十一章 血色阴影
  23. 第二十二章 孽缘
  24. 第二十三章 虚荣
  25. 第二十四章 奢靡
  26. 第二十五章 人以群分
  27. 第二十六章 妒火
  28. 第二十七章 爱与痛的边缘
  29. 第二十八章 惶惶不可终日
  30. 第二十九章 死别
  31. 第三十章 报恩
  32. 第三十一章 悬崖
  33. 第三十二章 真相
  34. 第三十三章 灯火辉煌

FAQ

What is the approximate time span of the novel?
The story begins in a northern Anhui village in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first half focuses on the entanglements of the Su and Yang families in the countryside and the difficult upbringing of the younger generation; the second half extends to the characters' emotional and workplace experiences after leaving the countryside and entering the city, with the timeline advancing naturally as the characters grow.
What narrative structure does the novel use?
The work unfolds its family narrative in a manner reminiscent of One Hundred Years of Solitude, linked by a series of fable-like chapters that are unexpected yet entirely plausible. It advances by interspersing the grudges, intrigues, and truths of the Su and Yang families, emphasizing the echoes between chapters and the overall atmosphere rather than a single linear account.
Do I need background knowledge of northern Anhui before reading?
No preparation is necessary. The novel drives its narrative through characters and family relationships, and the regional background emerges naturally in the plot; readers can enter simply by following the characters' experiences. A little familiarity with rural life in northern Anhui will make it easier to appreciate the details of daily life and the logic of human relations.

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About the author

魏灵芝 Author

Wei Lingzhi is a Chinese author with a modest body of work and relatively limited publicly available information; two of her works are currently included in the collection. Her novels fall into the categories of social fiction and modern romance, with representative titles including Above the Earth and Meeting Again in the Season of Falling Flowers. Judging from her choice of subjects, her writing attends to social reality on the one hand, placing characters within a broader backdrop of life, while on the other hand it focuses on emotional relationships in the contemporary city, building a narrative atmosphere around encounters, partings, and the turns of human fortune. These two directions sit side by side, giving her work both an observation of real life and a delicate portrayal of personal feeling. Because complete public records of the author's biography, creative experience, and publication history have yet to appear, the full shape of her writing cannot be clearly presented, and readers can for now know her literary orientation mainly through these two works.

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