The Future Can Still Be Pursued (Complete 2-Volume Set)
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Summary
Old Shanghai and new Shanghai appear here in their scenes and characters, in the city's bone and blood, its veins and the secret paths of its soul. There are lovers who haunt the memory, a White Russian pianist waiting day after day on a park bench, a gifted boy, a beautiful and fantastical rose garden, and the old Shanghai gentleman—the laokele—who keeps his stubborn vigil through melancholy. Different neighborhoods, different floors, different eras; foreigners and locals, people of the past, the present, and youth—all of them, through the days gone by, point toward the days to come.
A Shanghai utterly different from anything in literary history, and rendered to the full. A light that does not fade, from beginning to end, forms the distinct Chinese narrative of Zhang Guangtian's novel series, as Pushkin said: "All that is past is beautiful," and also, "The heart must always face the future."
Told through multiple methodologies, novel and non-fiction fused into one, different scenes of a great stage shifting in turn, strong characters interweaving, until at last the grand spectacle emerges. The book has vivid character coloring, yet in the end it writes events through people. Events, as the author says in his preface, are these: "Those days to come, because of a heart facing the future, are always beautiful. The people and events recorded in this book are all that I aspire to; for me, they either come and vanish at once, or have long been absent and never arrived. His, hers, yours, and mine—since they are not in the present, it hardly matters whose they are; all are absent now, and one always hopes they will be realized in the future."
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in Shanghai's urban history and its street life
- Literary readers who enjoy experimental narration and the blending of fiction and non-fiction
- Deep readers willing to read slowly and feel the passage of time through a cast of characters
- Scholars of literature attentive to narrative exploration in the Chinese contemporary novel
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer strong plot and fast-paced linear storytelling
- Readers hoping for clear historical documentation or factual reportage
- Beginners lacking patience for frequent scene changes and ensemble narration
Reading tips
- Begin with the author's preface to grasp the "toward the future" keynote before entering the main text.
- Take simple notes by character or neighborhood to keep the threads clear amid shifting scenes.
- Do not feel obliged to finish in one sitting; read volume by volume in stages, leaving room for aftertaste.
- When encountering figures such as the old gentleman and the pianist, note how they echo the changes of their times.
About the publisher
Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House is a professional literary and art publishing institution. It mainly publishes books on contemporary and modern literature, foreign literature, poetry and prose, music and art, and literary theory. Judging from the books in the database, the house places considerable emphasis on classic works and foreign literature. Representative titles include Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Xiao Hong's The Story of Hulan River, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Its translator resources include Deng Jiawan, Shi Zhongge, Du Yunci, and Zhu Shenghao. Common categories include social fiction, classic works, foreign literature, world classics, literary appreciation, and classical poetry, reflecting a publishing profile that balances Chinese and foreign literary classics with literary appreciation.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 来日可追：上卷
- 序言
- 第一辑 中心区
- 第一章 亨利路上的薇拉姨
- 第二章 尤佳
- 第三章 玫瑰屋
- 第四章 每一条归途都通向未来
- 第二辑 边缘与远方
- 第一章 下海滩
- 第二章 没膝的卷耳令你昏醉
- 第三章 寂寥少年
- 第四章 火车
- 来日可追：下卷
- 第三辑 这些影儿都挡了一下时光
- 金虎撑
- 独鳞汤
- 两个读书人
- 仙女与神童
- 飞英台玉碎
- 监啸
- 钥匙在窗前的阳光里
- 罗薇的表哥话有点多
- 我和你们他们
- 第四辑 你
FAQ
Is this book a non-fiction work about Shanghai's history?
Can I get into it without lived experience of Shanghai?
How should I pace my reading across the two volumes?
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About the author
Zhang Guangtian is an author about whom limited public information is available. What can be confirmed is that his writing is mainly social fiction, and three of his works are included in the collection: the two-volume novel Lai Ri Ke Zhui, Nanrong Jia de Yue, and Mei Fang. These works suggest that Zhang focuses on the intertwined fates of individuals, families, and localities, using narrative to present the situations and choices of ordinary people amid social change, with a strong sense of realism and close observation of social life. His novels do not rely on sensational plots but instead develop character relationships and the atmosphere of the times through the details of everyday life, in a plain yet delicate style. Because no clear records of his biography, nationality, or writing career are available, his overall literary development and influence cannot yet be fully assessed; the above introduction is based only on the subjects and categories of the works in the collection, and a fuller understanding must await the release of more public information.
