Zechen Xu

A collection of 9 interlinked stories set in the suburbs of Beijing. Narrated by a single voice, a 17 years old boy from a small village in the deep province, the stories follow an almost continuous story of immigration to the big city and making your way into a city that is bigger than anyone can imagine. I am almost willing to call it a novel - I had read novels that were more loosely linked than these stories are.

Muyu, our narrator (whose name we do not get until almost the end), had dropped out of school due to what appears to be a mental illness and the only thing that makes his head not feel weak is running - and you can do a lot of running in a big city. He and his roommates and housemates post advertisements for false papers - needed in a country which is regulated. The stories are full of death and struggle but also of a lot of small things that hit hard - the parents of a sick child who consider paying the fine to have a second child... until they do not need to, the father leaving his family back home and still trying to control the family's life, the young men who come to the city and get beaten, both emotionally and physically, by the indifference of almost everyone they meet, the family losing a husband and a father who need to survive on almost nothing after that while the man who murdered their loved one can continue his own life, the 10 years old that is forced to beg, the pigeons who may be food for some people but are the life of others.

The stories are gritty and in some places hard to read - there is cruelty and gore but there is also friendship and humanity peaking from under the grittiness. And while there is some hope in some of the stories, the overall tone is depressing - the big city eats you alive even if you manage to get there (because internal immigration in China is not as easy as just deciding to move after all).… (mehr)

This thin little book gave a glimpse into the lives of 20-somethings living in Beijing, who are just trying to get by in the hustle and bustle of the city. It chronicles the day to day activities of a young man, just released from jail, as he tries to eke out a living selling pirated DVDs. It painted a portrait of the fluidity and (sometimes) tedium of existence coupled with the human determination to survive. The story ends abruptly with no real resolution but all in all, a decently entertaining book.… (mehr)

This relatively short book gives a wonderful flavour of modern Beijing.
The main character is a lovable rogue called Dunhuang who has just been released from a short time in prison - he was caught (with others) selling fake IDs and passports. When he returns to civilian life he has no money, nowhere to live, no job and no idea what to do next. He falls in with a young woman who is selling pirated DVDs, they start a relationship and he starts helping her. Before long he has gone solo selling the DVDs and is making some money.
He starts a crude advertising campaign and to deliver to the customers who answer his ads, he runs through Beijing, dodging the cops, other scam merchants etc.
In many ways Dunhuang is an innocent, with a naive world view. He starts a romance - if you can call it that - with another young woman without really knowing much about her. There are many tribulations, things go bad, then improve again.

I loved the book because I see people like Dunhuang in Beijing all the time; on the make, scrabbling to make a living in a city that is merciless.
Xu Zechen is a terrific author, and the book is very well translated into English by Eric Abrahamsen… (mehr)