Mother by the Window
Tags
Summary
The book is divided into four sections—"Wontons in Gauze," "A Quiet Tenderness," "Mother by the Window," and "Father and Letters"—encompassing childhood memories as well as recollections of his sister, mother, and father. With delicate, unadorned strokes, he gently unfolds boundless remembrance and deep affection for his family.
The language is plain and tranquil, the emotion sincere and profound. Through small incidents he sketches the bygone images of family and friends, and objects once owned carry the reader back to the past like the cicadas of childhood.
Editor's review
As a seasoned editor, I believe the book's greatest value lies in its sincerity. Xiao Fuxing's writing is stripped of embellishment; there is no pileup of flowery rhetoric, yet every sentence lands on the reader's heart. He writes of his mother, of old friends, of the changes in Beijing, but what he really writes is the attachment to roots and home that everyone carries within. This feeling transcends eras and resonates deeply with readers of different ages and places. In an age of ever-quickening pace and growing indifference, reading such a quiet, warm book is a precious emotional healing and a spiritual homecoming.
Literarily, the book continues Xiao Fuxing's consistent Beijing-flavored essay style: plain and fluent language, unhurried narration, precise and vivid details, showing a mature writer's deep command of language and rich experience of life. It offers no fast-food stimulation; like a pot of warm aged tea, it asks the reader to settle down and savor it slowly to appreciate its long, mellow flavor. For readers seeking peace in reading, revisiting family affection, and feeling the plain beauty of Chinese, this is a rare gem.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who cherish memories of family and value family bonds
- Literature lovers who enjoy plain, sincere essays rich in the texture of daily life
- Urban dwellers longing to find tranquility and solace in words
- Cultural observers interested in old Beijing's landscape and social customs
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking strong plot and fast-paced narrative
- Readers inclined toward highly theoretical works or grand systems of thought
Reading tips
- Read in fragments during quiet moments, savoring one or two essays at a time to immerse yourself in their atmosphere.
- As you read, engage the author's words with your own life memories and emotional experience.
- Pay attention to the author's descriptions of everyday scenes and small gestures, and notice how he conveys deep feeling through detail.
About the publisher
Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. is a publisher known for its literature and history titles, with 2,065 books in the collection. Its publishing covers foreign literature, contemporary Chinese prose and essays, history, folk literature, and cultural books. Its list ranges from Sima Qian's complete edition of the Records of the Grand Historian to foreign classics such as The Book of Disquiet, All Quiet on the Western Front, Snow Country, The Stranger, and Jean-Christophe, as well as modern Chinese works including Teahouse and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. Its authors and translators include Yasunari Kawabata, Fernando Pessoa, Erich Maria Remarque, Jin Xinyi, Zhou Miao, and Chen Chao. Public information is limited, but its catalogue reflects a balance between Chinese and foreign literary classics and historical and cultural works.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 第一辑 绉纱馄饨
- 少年护城河
- 无花果
- 被月光抱住
- 绉纱馄饨
- 远航归来
- 美术日记
- 花间补读未完书
- 粥滋味
- 孙子流年
- 第二辑 一片幽情
- 一片幽情冷处浓
- 独草莓
- 核桃酪
- 姐姐
- 第三辑 窗前的母亲
- 花边饺
- 苦瓜
- 母亲的月饼
- 蓝围巾
- 酸菜
- 豆包儿
- 荔枝
- 母亲的学问
- 佛手之香
- 春节写给母亲的信
- 温暖的劈柴
- 窗前的母亲
- 母亲与莫扎特
- 油条佬的棉袄
- 娘的四扇屏
- 生命不仅属于自己
- 四个五角粽
- 母亲
- 第四辑 父亲和信
- 父亲和信
- 又想起父亲
- 清明忆
- 父亲
FAQ
What is this book mainly about?
What are the characteristics of Xiao Fuxing's essay style?
Is this book suitable as a gift?
Comments
Find this book
This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Xiao Fuxing was born in Beijing in 1947, with his ancestral home in Cangzhou, Hebei. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 1982. A contemporary writer, he has long been active in essays, fiction, and reportage. He served as deputy editor of People's Literature and Selected Stories, and as vice president of the Chinese Prose Society. He has published more than one hundred works and has repeatedly received the Bing Xin Prose Award, the Lao She Prose Award, and the Zhu Ziqing Prose Award. His essays often draw on everyday observations and personal memory, written in a plain, warm style that values natural expression of detail and feeling; his work also has wide influence in middle-school Chinese-language reading. This library holds 25 of his titles, covering classic essays, prose collections, film and television, and social fiction, including lyrical pieces such as Mother by the Window and When Plums Ripen and Gardenias Bloom, as well as sustained reflections on life and time in The Distance of Time and My Interesting Days in Boring Times.
