Exaggeration

Name: Exaggeration
ISBN: 9787538736557

沈熹微Shidai Literature Publishing House · ChinaJun 2015

3.5

Word count: 141K words
Chapters: 26
ISBN: 9787538736557

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Summary

I first came to know the word "fukua" through a song by Eason Chan. Later I looked it up in a dictionary and learned that it means empty boasting, something impractical and unrealistic. I never imagined that anyone would use such wording as a book title, but now that I think about it, only Shen Xiwei would do such a thing. The feeling this word gives is a kind of bewildered, drifting sense of peace inside a world of nothingness.

Editor's review

Fu Kua (Exaggeration) is the debut collection by young writer Shen Xiwei, published in 2015, gathering 24 prose essays written between 2011 and 2015. The author was no newcomer to the literary scene—her writing had long circulated on online platforms before being collected into a volume by Times Literature and Art Publishing House. The book's defining feature is its intense "private" and "introspective" quality. There is no grand narrative framework or dramatic plotting; the author lays bare, in exhaustive detail, her experiences drifting in Beijing in her early twenties, her complex feelings toward her hometown, everyday interactions with family, and reminiscences and reflections on youth. Her style is delicate and sensitive, tinged with self-reflective melancholy, brimming with captured details of daily life and precisely rendered inner emotions. This "immersive" mode of writing gives the work a high emotional density and makes it highly resonant for certain readers.

Yet Fu Kua is also a book that requires a certain "affinity." On one hand, its value lies precisely in this unadorned authenticity and vulnerability; it is like an open diary recording an ordinary young person's confusion, hopes, and growing pains at a particular stage of life. Readers who are in or have passed through similar life experiences can find solace and recognition in these words. On the other hand, this highly personal expression also creates a barrier. Readers who cannot empathize with its emotions, or who lack patience for the essayistic "murmuring" style, may find the content trivial and narrow in scope, or even feel a sense of emptiness. Some nostalgic imagery and expressions bear distinct marks of their era. Overall, Fu Kua is not a classic aiming for universal significance but rather a time capsule inscribed with the texture of the author's life during a specific period. Its literary quality and depth of thought may fall short of professional writers, but its emotional authenticity, the courage of its writing, and its documentary value as a profile of a generation's youth still merit recognition.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers who strongly resonate with themes of youth, growth, drifting, and hometown, and who wish to read narratives similar to their own experiences
Readers who prefer delicate, emotional prose essays with a strong personal flavor
Those interested in observing the mental and living conditions of "Beijing drifters" or a generation of urban youth
Readers willing to delve into another person's inner world through text and experience a relatively pure flow of emotion

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting grand narratives, tight plots, or deep analysis of social issues
Readers who cannot tolerate a slow pace, fragmented expression, or heavy emotional rendering

Reading tips

Read in small doses, in fragments, during quiet undisturbed moments, letting the text draw you into an inward atmosphere
Don't force yourself to "fully understand"; instead, try to feel the emotional field and rhythm of the language the author creates
Read in dialogue with your own similar memories of youth or life experiences; this resonance will enhance the reading experience

About the publisher

Shidai Literature Publishing House China · Founded in 1984

Shidai Literature Publishing House is a literary publisher known for foreign literature and classic works. Judging from the more than 300 titles in the catalog, its publishing focus is on foreign literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, classic works, and world masterpieces, with attention to translation quality and series-based presentation. Representative books include Yukio Mishima's Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Decay of the Angel, and Forbidden Colors in the Zitu Classic Library series, as well as Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Lu Xun's essays, and the four-volume The Sea of Fertility. Its translator resources include Chen Dewen, Gao Huiqin, Lu Qiushi, and Ding Kaite, while the authors involved include Yukio Mishima, Yasunari Kawabata, Lu Xun, and Jane Austen. The publisher is characterized by translated literature and reissues of classics, balancing popular reading with cultural accumulation; public information about its complete catalog and publishing plans is limited.

版权信息
自序
推荐序
SIDE.A│路过蜻蜓
缓慢
浮夸
树洞
路过蜻蜓
SIDE.B│六月船歌
风再起时
六月船歌
最遥远的海
隔岸
残局
SIDE.C│微澜
微澜
茵茵
失落
不朽
影子情人
SIDE.D│看完烟火再回去
半点心
过眼云烟
落尘
看完烟火再回去
SIDE.X│去往海市

FAQ

Is this book a novel or prose? What literary genre does it belong to?

Fu Kua is a collection of prose and essays. All pieces are based on the author's personal experiences and reflections and are not fictional novels. Its style leans toward "new prose" or "personal prose," emphasizing authentic writing of personal experience and delicate expression of inner emotion.

Is this book suitable for middle school or high school students?

The book mainly explores the confusion and growth of youth in plain language and uncomplicated content, so middle and high school students can certainly read it. The emotions it involves are relatively adult; students with some life experience or a mature disposition may understand and resonate more, while students who prefer plot-driven or knowledge-based reading may find it less appealing. Teachers or parents can judge whether the emotional tone of the content suits a particular young reader.

What is the author's writing style? What are its characteristics?

Shen Xiwei's style is generally delicate, sensitive, restrained, and slightly wistful. She excels at capturing the small ripples in daily life and emotion, with precise word choice and finely wrought feeling. The rhythm is leisurely; she does not impose views but creates an atmosphere where memory and reflection intertwine. This style makes the book one to be read slowly.

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About the author

沈熹微 Author

Shen Xiwei: available public information is limited, and it is not yet possible to confirm this author's nationality, dates of birth and death, or detailed life history. According to the records in our database, only one work appears under this name, the collection of prose and miscellaneous writings titled Fan Kua (roughly, "Ostentation"). Judging from this sole surviving item of information, Shen Xiwei's writing centers on prose and miscellaneous essays, a genre that typically draws on personal observation, everyday feeling, and random reflections, with attention to verbal expression and the unfolding of mood. Because verifiable material about the author is so scarce, it is difficult to make any firm judgment about the full scope of the writing, the specific features of its style, or its actual influence among readers. Fan Kua, as the only confirmable work, is the main point of entry for understanding this author; the title itself carries a certain ironic and self-reflective ring, which may relate to the thematic orientation the work presents. Overall, Shen Xiwei is an author about whom more material has yet to come to light, and whose literary profile and position still require further observation.