Exile's Return

Name: Exile's Return
ISBN: 9787540493134

马尔科姆·考利 / 姜向明Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaApr 2026

4.4

Word count: 220K words
Chapters: 50
ISBN: 9787540493134

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Summary

In the 1920s, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos… these young writers who would later create the golden age of American literature felt deeply alienated and oppressed, and fled America one after another for Paris in search of a free life and a sense of belonging. They were the "Lost Generation." They were lost because they had severed ties with the past and could not accept its old code of conduct, because they wanted to live in exile. Exploring a new goal in life, they wrote, drank, watched bullfights, and made love to their lovers amid doubt, unease, and rebellion, while still longing for a homeland long since lost. Exile's Return recounts this generation's adventure of self-exile and eventual return. Its praise for their casting off the burden of their predecessors and forging an era of their own has inspired generation after generation of young people ever since. In China, Exile's Return has been reprinted many times and has had a profound influence; it was selected as one of the "100 Books That Most Influenced China in 20 Years (1978–1998)." This new edition adds an excellent introduction by the literary critic Donald Faulkner, the 1934 epilogue, a publication history and chronology of Exile's Return, and a literary life timeline from 1924 to 1949 drawn by the author himself, helping readers better understand the intellectual journey of the golden generation of American writers and the historical and cultural changes in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century.

Editor's review

First published in 1934, Malcolm Cowley's classic work is a definitive social and cultural history of the Lost Generation. More memoir, literary criticism, and cultural analysis than narrative, it vividly records how a group of American writers and artists lived in Paris in the 1920s, wrestling with tradition and innovation, home and exile. Cowley was himself part of this history; with keen observation and deep reflection, he probes the mood behind the works of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, and others—postwar disillusionment, alienation from American commercial society, longing for European culture, and the inevitable return. The Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House edition gives Chinese readers a clear path into this golden age of literature. Reading it illuminates not only how the Lost Generation's style took shape but also how a generation of intellectuals sought through exile and return to construct personal and national identity. Its value goes beyond literary history: it is a mirror for anyone navigating cultural transition and the search for self.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a strong interest in the literature of the "Lost Generation" and the cultural history of 1920s America
Readers who enjoy nonfiction that blends personal experience, social observation and literary criticism
Literature enthusiasts reflecting on cultural identity, self-exile and spiritual belonging
Literary readers who want to understand the creative era of writers such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald

Not a good fit for

Pure fiction readers looking for tight plots and fictional storytelling
Readers who want quick conclusions and lack patience for historical background and literary analysis

Reading tips

Read it alongside contemporary novels such as The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby to grasp what Cowley's criticism refers to.
Pay attention to Cowley's dialectical treatment of the twin themes of "exile" and "return"—not merely geographical but psychological and aesthetic.
Treat the book as a spiritual history of intellectuals: beneath Cowley's cool, restrained prose, feel the ardent and bewildered inner world of that generation.

About the publisher

Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1985

Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.

版权信息
导读
版本说明
序言：迷惘的一代
第一章空中楼阁
1. 蓝色的朱尼亚塔
2. 大城高中
3. 文艺的学徒
4. 美国学院，1916
5. 救护队
第二章波希米亚区的战争
1. 漫长的休假
2. 格林威治村的思想
3. 青年社团
4. 法国轮船码头，1921
第三章旅行支票
1. 币值
2. 相似的历史
3. 《大西洋两岸评论》
4. 形式与内容
5. 家乡的传闻
第四章巴黎朝圣
1. 考卷
2. 圣徒传选读
3. 巴黎快车
第五章达达之死
1. 达达简史
2. 墓前布道
3. 个人记录
4. 意味深长的姿态
第六章愤怒之城
1. 法国轮船码头，1923
2. 有一只乳房的女人
3. 曼哈顿旋律
第七章岛屿时代
1. 康涅狄格谷
2. 查尔斯顿监狱
3. 吵闹的小子
4. 无路可逃
第八章自杀的回响
1. 留在梳妆台上的信
2. 太阳之城
3. 文字革命
4. 适时而亡
尾声：除夕
附录：出生年份
编辑附录
附录A：《流放者归来》1934版尾声
附录B：围绕《流放者归来》的出版史及大事记
附录C：文艺生活史表（1924—1949）

FAQ

Is this book a novel or nonfiction?

It is nonfiction, belonging to literary criticism and cultural history. As both a participant and a researcher, Malcolm Cowley reviews and analyzes the exile experience and cultural mentality of American writers in the 1920s.

Do I need much background knowledge before reading?

Some familiarity with the post-World War I social atmosphere and with writers such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald will help. But the narrative is clear and Cowley sketches enough background that even readers with limited prior knowledge can follow him into that era.

What is the main value and distinctive quality of this book?

Its core value lies in offering a first-hand psychological analysis of a legendary literary era, written by an insider. It goes beyond a mere compilation of writers' anecdotes, revealing the interplay between literary movements and social currents, and the reflection and reshaping of "Americanness" within a foreign culture.

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About the author

马尔科姆·考利 Author

Malcolm Cowley is an author known for observing shifts in society and culture, and his representative work, Exile's Return, is often classified under social and cultural studies in Chinese reading circles. Public information is limited: his nationality, dates of birth and death, and full career are unknown, and only one of his works is currently held in the collection. Judging from this work alone, Cowley's writing centers on the intersection between the fate of a group and the cultural atmosphere of its time, combining reportage with commentary and placing individual choices back within their historical context. This approach makes Exile's Return more than a record; it also probes the spiritual condition of a generation, giving it some reference value in discussions of related social and cultural issues. To readers, Cowley appears as a patient observer rather than a loud theorist; his work is modest in length but offers an entry point for understanding a particular cultural phenomenon, and is suitable for readers interested in social change and the mindset of intellectuals.

姜向明 Author

Jiang Xiangming is a Chinese translator about whom little public information is available; his name is chiefly associated with the translation of foreign literary works. Thirteen of his works are held in the collection, covering novels, short-story collections and essayistic volumes. Representative translations include Dubliners, Exiles' Return, The Painted Veil, the nine-volume Collected Works of Richard Yates, Flappers and Philosophers, The Young People in Sorrow, The Vexations of the Common Man and Song of the Lonely Youth. Judging from his selections, the writers he has translated largely belong to the English-language literary tradition, and his works are often classified under foreign literature, social culture and classic works. His translations serve the detailed portrayal of the human condition and social change, offering Chinese readers accessible texts for engaging with modern and contemporary Western fiction.