Besties

Name: Besties
ISBN: 9787544726245

艾明雅Yilin Press · ChinaDec 2023

Rating 3.5

Word count: 97K words
Chapters: 55
ISBN: 9787544726245

Summary

Douban personality Ai Mingya draws on her own and her girlfriends' experiences to explore the intricate emotional entanglements between men and women and between women themselves, and, after the confusions of love, the timeless confrontation between women and the passing of time and life. Pieces such as "Only at the Very End Do You Become That Person" once caused a sensation online, circulating among the vast community of Douban women—those not yet in love, already in love, brokenhearted, and in love again. Tender yet sharp, it has been hailed as an emotional guide for literary young women.

Editor's review

Girlfriends is a collection of emotional essays by the writer Ai Mingya, published in 2014 by Yilin Press. The book focuses on the emotions, growth, and self-perception of contemporary urban women, using delicate prose to dissect the dilemmas and choices women face in friendship, love, the workplace, and family. Ai Mingya, herself a media professional and columnist, writes with both insight and warmth, and excels at turning personal reflection into narratives of universal resonance, which lifts Girlfriends beyond a mere collection of emotional sketches to become a mirror of a generation of women's spiritual landscape.

In terms of content, the book does not offer quick-fix "answers to life"; instead, through slices of real or imagined stories, it invites readers to examine the inner folds hidden by the busyness of daily life. Its exploration of "girlfriend" relationships is especially deep—it is not only a celebration of female friendship but also a clear-eyed revelation of the dependence, comparison, support, and distance within such intimate bonds. In an age saturated with fast-food-style socializing, this reflection on deep relationships is all the more precious.

Reading this book, you will sense a restrained sincerity. The author avoids mawkish provocation, stating in a plain, even slightly detached tone the tensions modern women face between traditional role expectations and self-realization. This style may not suit readers seeking strong plot or direct guidance, but for those willing to look inward through reading and enjoy intellectual wandering, it offers a garden of the mind to linger in. Note that some views reflect a particular era's context; today's readers may interpret them differently—which is precisely the space for dialogue with the text.

Overall, Girlfriends is a work to be savored quietly. It does not try to conquer you; like a clear-headed friend, it softly raises the questions you may not wish to face but that matter profoundly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a sustained interest in and reflection on women's growth and emotional relationships
Literature lovers who prefer delicate psychological portrayal and life-oriented philosophical essays
Urban women currently reflecting on their interpersonal relationships, especially female friendships
Readers of nonfiction who appreciate a calm, plain style rather than emotional rhetoric

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking plot-driven, tightly structured narrative fiction
Practical readers expecting clear methodologies or actionable advice

Reading tips

Read it as an essay collection rather than a self-help book; feel free to dip into pieces in any order
You may compare the text with your own experience for reflection, but need not seek full agreement—maintain a critical distance
Some pieces reflect a particular era; younger readers may try to understand the emotional logic within its historical context

About the publisher

Yilin Press China · Founded in 1988

Yilin Press focuses mainly on translated foreign literature. Its current catalogue of 318 titles covers common categories such as mystery and detective fiction, foreign literature, world classics, biography, and social novels. Representative books include The Complete Sherlock Holmes 2: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, To the Lighthouse, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and Lives of the Artists: Michelangelo, often presented in bilingual or English-language editions that serve both original-text reading and language learning. Its author resources include foreign writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, and Romain Rolland, as well as translators including Li Jiazhen, Gao Fen, and Ma Ye. The catalogue also includes Chinese works such as Li Jieren's Ripples Across Stagnant Water. The press shows a concentrated publishing strength in foreign classics and bilingual readers; given limited public information, this overview is based only on catalogue data.

版权信息
自序女人，你还记得十六岁时的梦想吗
他们
最后的最后，你才成了那个最好的人
是他情多，还是你估错？
人生百味，谢谢你给过我的甜
遇见之后，还有千山万水要走
总有一个女人，让男人也泪流满面
前度相见，多少前爱滚滚重来
在最坏的时光，沉淀最好的爱。
不是信女，所以忘了善男
脱下高跟鞋，和他一起布衣菜饭
世界上，最性感的那个男人是父亲
她们
凭什么就该当你的杠杆女
一笔打翻佳人心底的才子梦
恶俗的女人，才过得舒服
一生需要多少男人做踏脚石
你在沙一方，我在水一方
我们的柔情，我们的风骨
那年，她们与杰克逊寂寞共舞
她已变成教主，不再是谁的甜心
爱是一条大河向东流
做单身公主，还是小胖厨娘？
女人，最好的归宿在烟火人间
人生自古，女不长恨水长东
我们
女子与女子，亦可天荒地老
总有一帮女人，令女人魂牵梦萦
你还记得你的第一条细纹吗
比唇膏粉饼更重要的，是纸巾
暧昧有毒，心要设防
你是我的夏天，我是你的秋天
你是不是和我一样，逃离了北上广
敢分手，才敢继续爱
让我们做一个小山城里的女子
聪慧与梦想：那些拾起与抛弃
打动我们的不是猎物，是猎捕
底气女子：奋不顾身是幸福
淡定生活，美好闺蜜。
自己
女人这辈子的千山万水
久违了，我的枝枝蔓蔓
大雾散去，回首一路披荆斩棘
菜市场的美女VIP
二十二点的膳房玉人
路上的白马王子还有多远
单身的好日子没有虚度
繁华声，折煞了世人
时光会老，你我却情长意久
你的眼睛需要一瓶雅诗兰黛
机缘同在，携手一段风雨路
最浪漫的不是我爱你，是还在一起
最后的最后，你还是会如约而来
后记人生爱情，百转流离不失所

FAQ

Is this book a novel or an essay collection?

Girlfriends is a collection of personal essays, gathering standalone pieces the author wrote on themes of women's emotions, growth, and relationships. It is not a novel with a continuous plot.

Does the book discuss only friendship between women?

Not exactly. "Girlfriends," as the title and one of the core images, does focus on female friendship, but the book ranges more widely, covering self-perception, love, family relationships, workplace observations, and other dimensions of urban women's lives.

Is this book suitable for male readers?

Although the starting points and cases are largely drawn from women's experience, its insights into interpersonal relationships and self-growth are universal. For male readers interested in understanding women's psychology or in emotional essays, it can offer valuable perspectives as well.

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About the author

艾明雅 Author

Ai Mingya is an author about whom limited public information is available; three of her works are included in the collection. Judging from the existing titles, her writing falls mainly into two categories: social fiction and inspirational personal growth. Her representative works, Guimi and Guimi 2, take female friendship and urban life as their subject, using close bonds between women to portray the emotional, workplace, and self-identity dilemmas of contemporary women. The Uterus Is Not a Prison: Awakening Women's Inner Strength turns to women's physical and mental well-being, encouraging self-awareness and personal growth. Together these works show her attention to women's experience and inner strength, written for a general readership in accessible language. Because details such as dates of birth and death, nationality, and education are unavailable, her personal life cannot be described in detail; this introduction is based only on the collected works and their categories, without further inference.