My bookshelf

Whether true or false, the reading enchants with underlying cryptic currents, leaving one in a wistful haze. The mastery of language is profound, playing with words wantonly. On the surface, it shows respect but is filled with rebellion and disobedience, distinctly characteristic. The overt expression of 'sexuality' is like a huge slogan plastered on the forehead: non-compliance. Excerpt 1: Once everything 'begins', there is nothing terrifying left in this world. Right now, I'm just a bit afraid of dying. After death, there will be no fear. Excerpt 2: Humans dwell all over the world, living in a daze, eating then sleeping, and after sufficient rest, eating again. Later, people gathered in river valleys and plains, established civilizations, and from there, all troubles began.

An unexpectedly raw portrayal, with a copious amount of frank, male-perspective descriptions of sexuality. Coupled with the unique imprint of its era, the fact that it got published is notable. The writing style is sophisticated yet uses vulgar, colloquial language that highlights a confident personality. The writer appears well-read, skilled in the craft of storytelling, creating a vivid image of the author: a privileged second-generation youth raised in a high-ranking official's compound, with affluent family background and surrounded by various women. The story setup in 'The Realm of Yin and Yang' borders on male fantasy, where an attractive young woman doesn't mind the ruined reputation of an impotent man living alone in a basement and goes as far as to strip and propose marriage in front of him, which, in light of the author's persona, doesn't seem so far-fetched.

Read the short story 'Leaving Home at Eighteen'.

Finished reading on May 3, the text is very comfortable. A restrained and interesting childhood perspective innocently records the bleak reality. The influence of family elders on the next generation's values and perspectives emerges in the careless text, vividly presenting the lives of the common people during the extremely impoverished and closed period of Imperial China, remotely echoing the blurry snippets of childhood from the 1990s. In this book, I found a fulcrum linking the past and present of society.

It is inconsequential, with no departure and no origin. After struggles, a brief life eventually forgotten. The fate and self-realization of a person, love and marriage, those who stay and the disappearing silhouettes. Hollow and numb, what can fill the void of nothingness?

Bit by bit, finally, a month later at twilight, amidst the rain and the grogginess of just waking up, I finished the last sentence of the last chapter. Its status as one of the 125-year bests of the "New York Times" is quite fitting, thought-provoking and profound in experience. Childhood growth is an eternal topic, and through the author's keen sensitivities, it also reveals aspects and atmospheres beyond one's own reach.