In the gentle warmth of spring, it is a time for poetry of growth, to watch how words sprout and blossom upon the page. Curated selections of new and outstanding works are presented here.
Salty Jokes by Liu Zhenyun
The book continues Liu Zhenyun's enduring creative focus on portraying "ordinary lives." With a humorous touch, the novel reflects the everyday realities of ordinary people through laughter, satire, and sharp observation, illuminating the possibility of reconciliation between individuals and the lives they lead.
Recommendation:
Salty Jokes carries forward the stories of Yanjin in Henan. With his blend of austere humor and intricate reflection, Liu weaves together the lived conditions and inner worlds of ordinary people.
Dunhuang Bian by Qiu Huadong
Structured around 10 specifically numbered grottoes at the Mogao Caves, the novel unfolds with each cave forming a chapter. It adopts a nonfictional approach to depict real historical settings, while employing fiction to imagine the stories behind them.
Recommendation:
Dunhuang Bian pioneers a new literary form, blending rigorous historical research with expansive literary imagination through a structure that juxtaposes external collage with internal cross-verification. (Xu Chenliang, editor-in-chief of Dangdai Bimonthly)
Su Dongpo in the Human World by A Lai
With the stance of both a fellow traveler and a devoted follower, A Lai "enters" the vast yet subtle inner world of Su Dongpo along the trajectory of real history.
Recommendation:
To complete this new nonfiction work, A Lai, a winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, spent a year retracing the final stage of Su Dongpo's long journey northward. It is not only a heartfelt tribute to a great literary figure, but also a profound dialogue between two writers across a millennium. (Li Songrui, research fellow at Chinese National Academy of Arts)
A Study of the River in Our Soul by Chen Danyan
Beginning with the Huangpu River, the book journeys to the waterfronts of global port cities including Macao, London, New York City, Hamburg, Tokyo, and Amsterdam. Chen Danyan walks through docks filled with shifting light, scents, and crowds. In her writing, rivers are an enduring civilizational force.
Recommendation:
In her nonfiction work, Chen transforms rivers into living devices of time and media of memory, carrying the complex aura of spatial production in Shanghai since its opening as a treaty port. (Liu Xinyue, associate professor at Shanghai Normal University)
La Souterraine by Sophie Marceau
The book uses a stream-of-consciousness style to explore the "hidden rivers" of female memory. The author moves fluidly between multiple roles - daughter, lover, mother, actress, transforming personal experience into fiction.
Recommendation:
This is a heartfelt work by Sophie Marceau. It has 13 short stories and seven poems to reveal life's hidden currents, and its writing itself becomes a process of self-liberation for female vitality. (Zhang Yi, president of Huacheng Publishing House)