Secret Words

Name: Secret Words
ISBN: 9787530686485

Wu YueBaihua Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

3.2

Word count: 94K words
Chapters: 13
ISBN: 9787530686485

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Summary

This is young writer Wu Yue's latest collection of short stories and novellas. Running to about 120,000 characters, the collection comprises twelve short stories: "The Moment the Heavy Rain Arrived," "Night Walker," "Bird," "Code Word," "Hollow," "The Other Shore," "The Farthest Distance," "Flower Mirror," "Ink-Wash Years," "Dear Mr. Zhang," "Lights," and "Alone by the Sea at Night." The author excels at taking a simple story and turning it into something intricate and gripping; while depicting ordinary life, she keenly captures the subtle movements of the human psyche. With delicate, nimble language she creates characters caught in all manner of predicaments, revealing the richness of their inner worlds.

Editor's review

This collection of short stories and novellas consists of twelve pieces and runs to about 120,000 characters: "The Moment the Heavy Rain Arrived," "Night Walker," "Bird," "Code Word," "Hollow," "The Other Shore," "The Farthest Distance," "Flower Mirror," "Ink-Wash Years," "Dear Mr. Zhang," "Lights," and "Alone by the Sea at Night." Wu Yue's strength lies in turning seemingly simple stories into intricate, layered narratives, capturing the subtle movements of her characters' psyches beneath the surface of ordinary life. Her language is delicate and nimble; rather than relying on strong plot momentum, she holds the reader through atmosphere, detail, and emotional turns. Most of the characters find themselves in various predicaments, and the richness of their inner worlds is peeled back layer by layer, giving the reading an up-close, observational quality. The stories suit single-piece reading in fragmented time—on the commute or before bed—and will appeal to readers who enjoy short fiction and are drawn to urban emotional and psychological portraiture. Because the pieces share a consistent style while emphasizing different themes, reading them together reveals the author's sustained attention to the motif of "people in predicaments"; readers who prefer strong conflict and fast-paced narrative may find some pieces slow.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy short stories and novellas, and like to dip in one piece at a time during fragmented time
Literary readers interested in urban emotion, psychological movement, and characters' spiritual predicaments
Readers who appreciate delicate, nimble language and prefer atmosphere and detail over strong plot
Aspiring writers, who can learn from the collection's narrative pacing and psychological description

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong conflict, fast pacing, or suspenseful twists
Readers who want a long, continuous story and are uncomfortable with the leaps of short fiction
Readers with little interest in urban emotional themes, who prefer historical or science-fiction settings

Reading tips

Read through once in table-of-contents order, then pick the pieces that move you most and reread them to study how the psychological turns are handled.
After each piece, take a few minutes to recall the characters' predicaments; don't rush on to the plot—savor the atmosphere's lingering resonance.
Read pieces such as "Code Word," "Hollow," and "The Other Shore" side by side, to observe how the author handles predicaments in different ways.
Keep a pen handy to mark delicate details and language; aspiring writers can imitate the narrative rhythm of a passage.

About the publisher

Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Founded in August 1958 and restructured into Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. in 2009, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House is known for publishing essays and fiction, and it hosts the journals Fiction Monthly and Essays. Its 757 titles in the library span classic works, culture, folk literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, foreign literature, and general biography. They include Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Zhu Ziqing's selected essays and Classic Essays, Fu Lei's Twenty Lectures on Masterpieces of World Art, and a Chinese translation of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Rashōmon, as well as cultural and performing-arts titles such as the illustrated Biography of Liang Qichao and A Dictionary of Crosstalk. Its authors include Lao She, Zhu Ziqing, Wu Qichang, Fu Lei, Xue Baokun, Gao Yucong, Wei Zhiqiang, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

版权信息
大雨抵达的时刻
夜行人
飞鸟
暗语
空洞
彼岸
最遥远的距离
花镜
水墨年华
亲爱的张先生
灯火
独自在夜晚的海边

FAQ

Is this a novel or a short-story collection?

It is a collection of short stories and novellas, made up of twelve pieces and running to about 120,000 characters. Each piece stands alone; the contents include "The Moment the Heavy Rain Arrived," "Night Walker," "Bird," "Code Word," "Hollow," "The Other Shore," "The Farthest Distance," "Flower Mirror," "Ink-Wash Years," "Dear Mr. Zhang," "Lights," and "Alone by the Sea at Night."

Are the pieces connected? Do they need to be read in order?

Each piece is an independent story; there is no continuous plot that requires reading in order. They do, however, share a similar range of thematic interests and a consistent language style, and reading them together reveals the author's sustained attention to her characters' predicaments. You can read in table-of-contents order, or start with whichever piece interests you and enter one at a time.

Is it suitable for reading before bed or on the commute?

Yes. Each piece is not long and is relatively complete in itself, making the collection well suited to single-piece reading in fragmented time. Some pieces are more restrained in mood and slower in pace, though, so reading them before bed may leave a longer aftertaste; choose pieces according to your reading state.

What are the characteristics of the language style?

The author's language is delicate and nimble; she excels at capturing the subtle movements of the human psyche within depictions of ordinary life, turning simple stories into intricate, layered narratives. The work does not rely on strong plot momentum but holds the reader through detail, atmosphere, and emotional turns, revealing the richness of her characters' inner worlds.

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About the author

Wu Yue Author · China · 1932–2024

Wu Yue (1932–2024), originally named Wu Peijue, was a native of Jinyun, Zhejiang. A member of the China Writers Association, he worked across language reform, popular science and literature, and served as an editor at the Publishing House for Script Reform and as a deputy senior editor at Baowentang Bookstore. His writing spans several fields: historical narrative in The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire; educational documentary in Shanghai Morning: The First University Founded by the CPC (1922–1927); politics and history in The Dream Without Borders: Courage, Imagination and the Making of Modern Israel and Red Starting Point; and social fiction in Code Words. He also wrote the historical novel Revenge on Mount Kuocang, Wu Yue's Commentary on Water Margin, A Dialect Gazetteer of Jinyun County, and numerous computer textbooks. Public information is limited, but his wide-ranging subjects, balancing scholarship and popular writing, reveal a broad intellectual reach.