Reviews
Beautiful and thought-provoking... A breeze of aesthetic freedom flows through all of them, making them fun to read., "The pieces are varied, lively, often charming, and occasionally brilliant." -- Perry Link, New York Review of Books, Funny, touching, intriguing and sometimes very beautifully... They are tiny vignettes of Chinese life in all its entire chaotic splendour., "Beautiful and thought-provoking... A breeze of aesthetic freedom flows through all of them, making them fun to read." -- Susan Salter, "Los Angeles Times", "The pieces are varied, lively, often charming, and occasionally brilliant - and they make no demands on the reader." -- Perry Link, New York Review of Books, "Funny, touching, intriguing and sometimes very beautifully... They are tiny vignettes of Chinese life in all its entire chaotic splendour." -- Jenny Niven, Time Out Beijing, "Funny, touching, intriguing and sometimes very beautifully... They are tiny vignettes of Chinese life in all its entire chaotic splendour." -- Jenny Niven, "Time Out Beijing", "Beautiful and thought-provoking... A breeze of aesthetic freedom flows through all of them, making them fun to read." -- Susan Salter, Los Angeles Times, "This volume runs the gamut of human emotions and situations, not to mention styles of expression and modes of representation. Some short-shorts are long on dialogue and are witty and light; others are brooding and haunting, revealing dimensions of their subjects through in-depth narrative and description. What they all have in common is that they crystallize some important human moment, leaving the reader with a brief but resonant impression." -- Christopher Lupke
Table of Content
Foreword, by Bei Dao Introduction I. Grooming A Lover's Ear, by Yuan Qiongqiong Mothballs, by Chen Kehua A Shaved Head, by Wang Meng Lover, by Chen Kehua Losing the Feet, by Zhong Jufang Fad, by Zhang Zheng II. Change Wrong Number, by Liu Yichang Learning to Talk, by Wang Meng A Seat, by Liu Guofang Self-Murder, by Cai Nan Last Stop, Mongkok, by Che Zhengxuan Parting, by Wang Kuishan The Beat, by Liu Xinwu III. Choices "Left" with No Chance, by Chang Gang Sunday Morning, by Xi Xi Jailbreak, by Ku Ling A Cup of Tea, by Yu Yingmao In the Haystack, by Cao Naiqian Returning Home on a Stormy Night, by He Weiping Tied Together by Fate, by Chen Huiying IV. Governance The Busy Secretary, by Zhan Jing Cloth Shoes, by Ah Cheng Promotion Report, by Chen Hengchu Purchase Request for a Kettle, by Xu Shijie A Capable Man Can't Handle a Small Case, by Liu Jing Ears, by Sun Xuemin V. Games What's Up, Lao Cao? , by Chen Shixu General, by Liu Jianchao Number Eight, by Wu Yimin Observe, by Ah Cheng Confinement, by Yuan Bingfa Here's How the Flu Spreads, by Qin Yong The Upholder of Unity, by Wang Meng VI. Controversy A Tail, by Wang Zengqi Black Hen, White Hen, by Ji Dongliang My One Comment Too Many, by Yi Ming Gan Xiaocao's Bamboo Pole, by Deng Hongwei Right to the Heart of the Matter, by Wang Meng Sexual Harassment, by Lin Li-chun VII. Anticipations Bed-Wetting, by Zhang Jishu The Principle of Rebound, by Xu Haiwei Accidental Confidante, by Bai Xiaoyi Matching Sets, by Wei Jinshu Home, by Xiu Xiangming Rendez-vous, by Si Li VIII. Creatures Cat, by Yuan Qiongqiong Pets, by Ah Cheng Sea Turtle, by Zhang Kangkang Flies, by Yuan Qiongqiong The Crow and the Fox, by Liang Dazhi Waiting for a Windfall, by Wang Yanyan Little Stray Cat, by Zhong Ling IX. Sharing Division, by Zhou Rui Postcards, by Ye Si The Cycle, by Ah Cheng Black Umbrella, by Yi Ruofen Small-Hands Chen, by Wang Zengqi It Was the Pumpkin That Brought Me Here, by Luo Feng In-Law, by Cao Naiqian X. (In)Fidelities Elope, by Fu Aimao Frenchie, by Ai Ya Hickey, by Ku Ling Horse Talk, by Mo Yan A Family Catastrophe, by Ku Ling Hatred, by Ah Cheng Confession of a Photographer, by Ku Ling XI. Nourishment Good Wine, by Chen Hui Chimney Smoke, by Ah Cheng 0 Café, by Ku Ling The Bus Stop and Haws-sicles, by Zhou Rui Granny Drunkard, by Feng Jicai Tea Scum, by Ling Dingnian XII. Weirdness Disputatiasis, by Wang Meng The Features-Column Editor's Daydream, by Liu Yichang Death Dream, by Ku Ling Empty Seat, by Yuan Qiongqiong Little, Little, Little, Little, Little . . . , by Wang Meng Strange Encounter, by Mo Yan XIII. ? An Explosion in the Living Room, by Bai Xiaoyi Going Home, by Ai Ya It Looks as If . . . , by Teng Gang Not Seen, by Yuan Qiongqiong My Wife Finally Goes Camping, by Lin Ji Contemplating Water, by Zhong Ling XIV. Elegy Father, by Yuan Qiongqiong A Knock at the Door, by Lin Jinlan Grandpa Pothook, by Cao Naiqian Killer Well, by Zhong Ling Looking Back at Life at the Moment of Death, by Cai Nan An Encounter with General Zhou, by Chi Zijian XV. Looking Backward and Looking Ahead The Look, by Li Zuchen Notes About the Authors
