Lapse of Time (Panda Series) - Softcover

Wang Anyi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 7119033603 ISBN 13: 9787119033600

Publisher: Foreign Language Press, 2005

Synopsis

From the Contemporary Chinese Women Writers Series, this collection brings together seven stories by Wang Anyi, one of the most popular writers in Shanghai today. Anyi’s stories traverse the social climate of the 1980’s in China, concerned with the values and difficulties faced by the younger generation, and thus serve as a good introduction to the face of contemporary Chinese writing.

About this title

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

From Publishers Weekly

This collection of short fiction by a Chinese woman is of interest principally for the window it opens to the workings of daily life during and after the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Within that decade, young people are separated from their families and resettled in remote provinces to work the land. The formerly rich must send their children to sell old clothes, and everyone scrambles to buy food at the market. Only the politically privileged have enough living space; discussing the merits of a potential bride, a character says of her, " 'She has a room. That's very important in Shanghai.' " The sacrifices that members of a family make for each other are catalogued along with the attendant resentment and regret. The title novella, perhaps the best piece here, probes the transformation of an affluent family that suffers deeply during the Revolution but whose wealth is afterwards restored: "Now that they had come through the Revolution, there should be lessons there to be learned," thinks the heroine even as the meaning of her experiences evades her. The book's flawsoccasionally wooden prose, and melodramatic or sentimental plotsdo not significantly impair its allures.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Foreign Language Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 7119033603
• ISBN 13: 9787119033600
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 315