Rift Valley

Name: Rift Valley
ISBN: 9787541168284

泉Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaAug 2024

3.4

Word count: 283K words
Chapters: 75
ISBN: 9787541168284

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Summary

Rift Valley collects six narrative works by Quan.

He is in the habit of equipping his fiction with certain “whiteboards,” into which he places lines of poetry he comes across in daily life. All around, short poems drift—some come to him in dreams, some he bumps into while walking. For his writing, the presence of these fictional “whiteboards” is like a kind of wilderness where consciousness can breathe.

Strictly speaking, the texts you see here do not really count as “fiction”; what they perform is actually a process of “the generalization of poetry,” like the Brownian motion of molecules. “Poetry” may leap (or be reckoned) out from any corner between the lines.

There is no need to presuppose any empirical framework; once you begin to write, whatever you encounter is brought in. This is “burn-writing”: smelting all information at an extremely high melting point, so that nothing seen or felt is barred from entering the text.

Writers need not confine themselves to a monochromatic context shared by a disciplinary background. People themselves exist within a flood of information; one might as well become an “integrated circuit” and boldly connect with every surrounding scenario. A person can become a central control room, interfaced with infinite hot words. For an originator to make a kind of originality hold, what matters more is the capacity to process intersecting information.

Editor's review

Rift Valley is a substantial novel by the writer Quan, published by Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House. This work is not an easy, readable genre novel but a quiet, profound serious creation full of literary texture. Set against a fictional region called the “Rift Valley,” it depicts, through delicate and dense brushwork, the living conditions and spiritual predicaments of the people there under the pressures of historical change, natural forces, and inner conflict. The author Quan’s writing style is calm and restrained, with a slow narrative pace beneath which undercurrents surge; the author excels at using the details of daily life and the subtle psychological activities of characters to construct a literary world that is both concretely palpable and symbolically resonant. Reading Rift Valley is like gazing at a deep geological scar; what it reflects is not only a geographical fault line but also the barriers between human hearts, the fissures of memory, and the faults of history. For readers seeking the pleasures of plot, it may seem too gentle; but for those who long to feel the weight of time in words, savor the complexity of human nature, and enjoy the pleasures of contemplation, this book offers rich reading value. It is more like a finely wrought long scroll that requires quiet attention; each careful reading may reveal new textures and meanings.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love quiet, serious fiction with literary texture
Readers interested in exploring the depths of human nature and themes of existential predicament
Literary enthusiasts who appreciate delicate psychological description and atmosphere-building
Readers looking for works that provoke long reflection and inner resonance

Not a good fit for

Readers who seek strong plot, fast pacing, and dramatic conflict
Readers who hope for a light, entertaining reading experience

Reading tips

It is recommended to begin reading in a relatively quiet, undisturbed environment so as to enter the unique atmosphere the work creates.
There is no need to rush the plot; try slowing down and savoring the author’s fine depiction of detail, environment, and psychology.
After reading, pause for a while and reflect on the symbolic meaning of the core image of the “rift valley” at the personal, familial, and broader levels.

About the publisher

Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1984

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.

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仪式
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1
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1
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织体：红与灰
请勿间接惊鹿
伪诗评
误读格言
黄金分割数
望文生义
灵猴
分身
蓝移
空想少女
伊迪丝芬奇的记忆
造句
潮男
仙境
无限循环室：R∞M
2999
花序¹
疑问
花序²
DO₂：二氧化梦
过程
夏天的风口
刺客
外星之春
劫
四段
侠
文档
恍
药
枝空间
液晶
无字书
故事新编
两地的天空悬浮着同一批产于春季的粉末
斜体
归
即景
A ∩ Z
遐想
雨天
远景
一纸可速食乙醚
鬼片
译文
大风
鹤汀辞典第572页
花粉是小数点
香积寺之夜
糖内的连环画
植物生命力的延伸
无题
碳素笔呆住了
备注
外三则

FAQ

What story does Rift Valley tell?

It does not unfold around a highly dramatic central event; rather, with the region of the “Rift Valley” at its core, it depicts the survival trajectories, emotional bonds, and inner transformations of multiple families and characters over long years, focusing on the undercurrents of ordinary life, the accumulation of memory, and spiritual weariness. It is a symphonic poem about land, memory, and human fate.

What is the author Quan’s writing style like?

Quan’s writing style is known for being quiet, delicate, and restrained. The language is refined and textured, and the narrative pace is steady and deep. The author excels at shaping characters and atmosphere through abundant plain description of detail and profound psychological analysis, endowing everyday scenes with profound literary meaning and allowing readers to feel emotional tension and intellectual weight beneath the calm surface of the text.

Is this book difficult to read?

For readers accustomed to traditional plot-driven fiction, some adjustment may be needed at first. Its “difficulty” lies not in obscure language but in its anti-plot narrative mode and the textual qualities that require deep immersion and reflection from the reader. Once you enter its rhythm, you can appreciate its unique literary charm and intellectual depth.

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About the author

泉 Author · Chinese

Quan is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available. His or her dates of birth and death, educational background, and full writing career cannot currently be confirmed, and no reliable English name has been recorded. According to the library's holdings, Quan has only one work, the prose collection Rift Valley. The title suggests that the book may deal with rift valleys in a geographical sense, or may use the image of a rift to explore themes of life, society, or culture; the specific content is best judged by readers from the text itself. Because verifiable material is scarce, it is difficult to summarize Quan's writing style systematically or to assess his or her influence and standing in the literary world. What can be confirmed is that Quan enters readers' view through the genre of prose, and that this single work, though few in number, offers an entry point for observing the author. It is hoped that more material will emerge in the future so that Quan's creative profile can be presented more fully.