The Contemporary Art of Fiction
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Summary
Fictional Contemporary Craft collects 17 pieces of literary criticism by Huang Dehai, all of which run through his reflections on modern literary ideas. Huang Dehai holds that the perfect theoretical frameworks and refined literary insights offered by classics of various kinds cannot be copied wholesale, and therefore cannot provide the theoretical grounding we have long craved—unless we cut the foot to fit the shoe, forcing literary works to compromise for certain theories; or cut the shoe to fit the foot, forcing theories to accommodate certain works. As with literary creation, what literary criticism seeks to express is also the writer's distinctive discovery.
Huang Dehai argues that literary criticism should return to the present we inhabit and grow together with its subject, gaining concrete impressions, responding to concrete phenomena, and reaching concrete conclusions on the basis of deep and meticulous reading of specific works.
Editor's review
Huang Dehai's critical style is distinctive. He relies little on grand theoretical frameworks; instead, like a patient craftsman, he sinks into the texture of the text, revealing its inner threads and energies through subtle discrimination and dense argumentation. In this book he pays particular attention to the novel as a form, exploring the ethics of its fictionality, the craftsmanship of its structure, and the possibilities of its language. When analyzing Wang Anyi's Kao Gong Ji, for example, he astutely points out how the novel bears the weight of history and memory through its extreme depictions of "things," thereby achieving a kind of "nonfictional fiction." This reading not only deepens our understanding of a single work but offers an illuminating perspective on contemporary literary creation as a whole.
The book's value lies not only in its virtuosic textual analysis but in the critical stance it embodies: sincere, focused, and possessed of a firm belief in literature itself. In an age of clamorous voices, Huang Dehai's writing is quiet and forceful, reminding us that reading and criticism are first of all a process of slowing down and entering into deep dialogue with the text. For any reader who wishes to move beyond superficial impressions and understand the inner logic and artistic aspirations of contemporary literature, this book is an indispensable guide.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers with a deep interest in contemporary literature (especially fiction), both its creation and its criticism
- Students, researchers, or writers in literary studies who wish to learn close reading and textual analysis
- Readers who appreciate a quiet, meticulous, insightful essayistic critical style
- Readers of Huang Dehai's previous works who wish to see the contemporary extension of his critical vision
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light entertainment or quick, bite-sized book reviews
- Fans of academic papers dense with literary-theory jargon and grand narratives
Reading tips
- It is not necessary to read straight through; begin with chapters on writers that interest you and experience the author's method of close reading
- It may help to read the literary works discussed alongside this book, to feel the dialogue between criticism and creation
- The prose is quiet and dense, suited to slow reading in a relatively calm environment, savoring the layers of argument and the texture of the language
About the publisher
Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 白手不许持寸铁（代序）
- 物质性时代的贫乏
- 丧失了名誉的议论
- 能被思考的东西必定是虚构的
- 文学作品的传奇品质
- 虚构·非虚构·三重练习
- 作为竞争的虚构与非虚构
- 知识结构变更或衰年变法
- 作为文学形象的“世纪交替”
- 在虚构中重建生活世界
- 如何重新讲述一个时代
- 韩东：要长成一棵没有叶子的树
- 小说的末法时代或早期风格
- 不完美的启示
- 降落现实的转境时刻
- 试走未行之路
- 别有根芽
- 源流与通变
- 附录
- 一个“有恒”的人
- 更好的文学，更好的生活
FAQ
How does this book differ from the author's earlier Reading, Readers, Reading Material?
Are the writers and works discussed in the book rather obscure?
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About the author
Huang Dehai is an author about whom relatively limited public information is available. Two works can currently be confirmed, both centered on literary appreciation. The first is Virtual Craft (Xugou de Xianyi), and the second is News of the Classic of Poetry (Shijing Xiaoxi), in an expanded edition. Judging from the titles and their classification, his writing generally concerns the reading, interpretation, and aesthetic evaluation of literary works, involving both close attention to specific texts and discussion of literary expression. The title News of the Classic of Poetry suggests an interest in the reception and interpretation of this classical text, perhaps presented in the form of notes or essays, while Virtual Craft indicates a concern with fictional technique and literary creation. Because public materials are limited, details of his life, education, and writing career cannot be confirmed, but these two works suggest an approach that connects classical texts with contemporary reading experience through appreciative criticism, appealing to readers interested in literary reading and criticism.
