Reading the City - The Book of Shanghai

Chen Qiufan

• 27 april 2020
• 9781912697373

Samenvatting:

As the end of the world arrives in downtown Shanghai, one man’s only wish is to return a library book...

When a publisher agrees to let a star author use his company’s attic to write in, little does he suspect this will become the author’s permanent residence...

As Shanghai succumbs to a seemingly apocalyptic deluge, a man takes refuge in his bathtub, only to find himself, moments later, floating through the city's streets...

The characters in this literary exploration of one of the world’s biggest cities are all on a mission. Whether it is responding to events around them, or following some impulse of their own, they are defined by their determination – a refusal to lose themselves in a city that might otherwise leave them anonymous, disconnected, alone.

From the neglected mother whose side-hustle in collecting sellable waste becomes an obsession, to the schoolboy determined to end a long-standing feud between his family and another, these characters show a defiance that reminds us why Shanghai – despite its hurtling economic growth –remains an epicentre for individual creativity.

Translated by: Lee Anderson, Yu Yan Chen, Jack Hargreaves, Paul Harris, Frances Nichol, Christopher Macdonald, Carson Ramsdell, Josh Stenberg, Katherine Tse, and Helen Wang.

'A panoply of modes and styles, from the deeply realistic to the bizarre and outlandish.' - Words Without Borders

'It is hard to find anyone who really knows Shanghai. This collection is a start.' - Asian Review of Books

'And always, there is Shanghai: looming, and colouring these unique and hypnotic tales with a presence ever-shifting.' - Lunate