Broken Generations

Name: Broken Generations
ISBN: 9787513919456

郭强生民主与建设出版社 · ChinaSep 2018

4.4

Word count: 135K words
Chapters: 14
ISBN: 9787513919456

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Summary

Once the darling of Taipei's social scene, Lao Qi has reached middle age. After the death of a close friend from illness, he still insists on holding down the fort alone at the Melody bar in a busy Taipei district. Badly hurt in the past by a university student, he still harbors resentment toward the love he has pursued for most of his life. In high school, Xiao Zhong was seduced by a classmate, Yao, who gave him his first taste of desire. In university he met Yao again, and with her came her classmate A Chong and an older student, Angela; the feelings among the four are tangled and ambiguous, seeming false yet true. His bewilderment over Yao and his uncertainty about the future—these pangs of youth fade with the passing of a golden age and are too painful to look back on. A Long, who works part-time at a convenience store, quietly watches over his girlfriend Xiao Min; once they have saved enough, the couple plan to open an imported-clothing shop together. He has long harbored a secret that confuses and shames him and refuses to face it—until one day he finds the owner of the bar across the street collapsed inside... Through these main characters' memories and confessional outpourings, the collective memory and emotional structure of a particular marginalized identity are profoundly revealed by Guo Qiangsheng's pen, which is both macroscopic and microscopic.

Editor's review

Duan Dai is another full-length masterwork by Guo Qiangsheng after The Night Walker, with the simplified Chinese edition published by Democracy and Construction Press. Set against Taiwanese society, the book interweaves the fates of several main characters to sketch decades of historical change and individual predicament from the 1980s to the present. With a cold, meticulous brush, Guo Qiangsheng depicts in depth how a generation, caught in the torrent of political liberalization, economic takeoff and social transformation, confronts ruptures in identity, emotional belonging and historical memory. The novel attends not only to personal feeling and fate but also tightly links individual life trajectories to the collective memory of society as a whole, presenting a historical picture full of tension and permeated with a sense of loss.

As a scholar-writer, Guo Qiangsheng displays deep narrative craft and historical insight in the novel. He deftly combines grand historical background with subtle individual psychology, letting readers feel the weight of history amid his characters' joys and sorrows. The novel's treatment of the passage of time, the blurring of memory and confusion of identity is especially profound; the struggles and choices of those who lose their bearings at the turning points of an era constitute multiple interpretations of the theme of "duan dai." This book is not merely a novel but a meditation on memory, trauma and reconciliation.

In literary terms, Duan Dai continues Guo Qiangsheng's consistent style: refined and restrained language, rigorous and tight structure, deep and inward emotion. He does not overplay tragedy but lets the tragic sense emerge naturally through calm narration; this restraint instead strengthens the work's power. For readers concerned with Taiwan's social change and interested in history and memory, this book offers a unique perspective and profound room for thought.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Taiwan's social change and historical memory
Readers who enjoy deep, restrained, rigorously structured literary fiction
Readers concerned with identity and generational difference
Readers seeking to feel the weight of an era and the depth of human nature in fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting light entertainment and fast-moving plots
Readers entirely unfamiliar with Taiwan's background and social context

Reading tips

It is advisable to first learn about Taiwan's social background from the 1980s to the present, which helps in understanding the characters' circumstances and choices
While reading, note the interweaving and juxtaposition of temporal threads, and appreciate how the author uses narrative structure to present the theme of "duan dai"
After finishing, consider: What is the relationship between personal memory and collective history? How do historical turning points affect ordinary people's life trajectories?

About the publisher

民主与建设出版社 China · Founded in 1994

Founded in 1994, Democracy and Construction Press organizes its publishing around economic management, the humanities and history, and united front culture, while also covering foreign literature and classic works. Among the 732 titles in the collection are translations of foreign classics such as The Brothers Karamazov and On War, fantasy literature such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Illustrated Collector's Edition, and modern literary masterpieces including Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof and Camel Xiangzi · The Problem of Nothing, and Lu Xun's Call to Arms. Translators Geng Jizhi and Wang Jinhua, together with authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and Carl von Clausewitz, form the resource base for its combination of scholarly translation and general reading. As public information is limited, this description focuses on the publishing profile reflected in the titles held in the collection.

版权信息
1 人间夜
2 关于姚……
3 旧欢
4 重逢
5 在迷巷
6 沙之影
7 梦魂中
8 勿忘我
9 痴昧
10 痴魅
仿佛在痴昧／魑魅的城邦
在纯真失落的痛苦中觉醒—— 郭强生专访
沙影梦魂，众生情劫：谁是凶手？

FAQ

What is the connection between this book and Guo Qiangsheng's earlier work The Night Walker?

Duan Dai continues Guo Qiangsheng's concern with Taiwan's social change and individual fate, but expands the time span and deepens the themes, focusing more on historical rupture and generational difference.

What exactly does "duan dai" in the novel refer to?

It refers both to the rupture and estrangement between generations in the course of history and to the identity confusion and memory gaps produced in individual lives by drastic historical change—a multi-layered metaphor.

What is the narrative style of this book?

Guo Qiangsheng's narrative style is known for its calm restraint; his language is refined and full of tension, and he excels at revealing characters' inner worlds through detail and psychological description, with a steady, contemplative pace.

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About the author

郭强生 Author

Guo Qiangsheng is a Chinese-language literary author. Two of his works are included in the collection, namely Duan Dai (Generation) and The Piano Seeker, commonly categorized as social fiction and classic works. Based on the available materials, public information about his nationality, dates of birth and death, education, and awards is limited, making it difficult to describe his life in detail. Judging from these two works, his writing tends to center on human emotions and social relationships, with delicate strokes and attention to psychological portrayal and narrative pacing, drawing a certain degree of attention among readers of contemporary Chinese fiction. His works are classified as social fiction, suggesting a focus on realistic life and collective circumstances rather than mere plot entertainment. Overall, Guo Qiangsheng is an author mainly engaged in fiction writing, with a calm and restrained style. Although his output is not large, his works attract readers' notice for their realistic concern and textual quality, and are worth continued observation within the context of contemporary Chinese fiction.