Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who resonate with coming-of-age stories of youth in the 1980s and 1990s
- Fiction readers who enjoy formal experimentation such as second-person narration
- Young people navigating turning points in study, job hunting and love
- Literary enthusiasts interested in semi-autobiographical writing and the transformation of personal experience
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer plot-driven, fast-paced genre fiction
- Readers hoping to find direct life answers in fiction
- Readers who find second-person narration alienating
Reading tips
- Read the first few chapters to get used to the second-person narration, then continue reading
- Take notes by stage: schooling, love, entering society, putting down roots
- After finishing, revisit the opening to feel the emotional loop created by the narrative perspective
- Read alongside background material on the social transformation of the 1980s and 1990s
About the publisher
Writers Publishing House is a Chinese publisher focused mainly on literary publishing. Its output covers classical literature, foreign literature, folk literature and Eastern philosophy, with some extension into popular reading such as social fiction and parenting books. Its catalogue contains more than 900 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber and its edited editions, Shakespeare's Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and foreign literary classics such as The Brothers Karamazov and Lost Illusions. In terms of authors, it includes classical writers such as Cao Xueqin and Gao E, foreign masters such as William Shakespeare, Dostoevsky and Balzac, and translations by translators such as Zhu Shenghao, Geng Jizhi and Fu Lei. Overall, its publishing profile balances Chinese and foreign literary classics, emphasizes quality translations, and serves both academic and general readers; publicly available information on its specific publishing plans is limited.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序：潮湿是一种让人忧伤的温度
- ［卷一］前史
- 第一章
- 第二章
- 第三章
- 第四章
- 第五章
- 第六章
- 第七章
- ［卷二］那年
- 第八章
- 第九章
- 第十章
- 第十一章
- 第十二章
- 第十三章
- 第十四章
- 第十五章
- 第十六章
- 第十七章
- 第十八章
- ［卷三］此城
- 第十九章
- 第二十章
- 第二十一章
- 第二十二章
- 第二十三章
- 稿边笔记：酒吧夜谈
FAQ
Is second-person narration awkward to read?
Is this novel based on the author's real experiences?
Is the novel suited to reading in one sitting?
Comments
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About the author
Yang Shaobin is an author about whom limited public information is available. What is currently known is that one work appears under this name, Birth (Dansheng), classified as a social novel. A single work is not enough to sketch a full picture of his writing or his life; his nationality, dates of birth and death, education, and writing career have no reliable record, so little should be inferred. Judging from the social-novel category of Birth, Yang's writing seems inclined toward a realistic setting, attending to the circumstances and relationships of characters within their social environment and presenting, through narrative, the choices and fates of ordinary people under specific historical conditions. Social novels usually emphasize concern for reality and character portrayal; along this path, his prose may lean toward realism, with attention to the logic of everyday life and the texture of detail. Since only this one work is held, readers wishing to know the author might begin with Birth and observe its narrative perspective, language style, and handling of social issues. Whether his writing continues in the same direction, or whether he has attempted other forms, must await further material.
