The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories: Flash Fiction from Contemporary China

By Shouhua Qi

Book Overview

China's hottest literary genre brings together the traditional, the experimental, and the avant-garde.

Hugely popular in China, flash fiction is poised to be the most exciting new development in contemporary Chinese literature in a decade. Integrating both vernacular and contemporary styles while embracing new technologies such as text messaging (SMS) and blogging, contemporary Chinese flash fiction represents the voice of a civilization at the brink of a startling and unprecedented transformation.

This collection features 120 short-short stories (from 100 to 300 words each), written by some of China's most dynamic and versatile authors. Dong Rui's The Pearl Jacket offers a glimpse of the real and surreal in human evolution, Chen Qiyou's Butterfly Forever brings an ancient Chinese literary motif into a startling modern context, while Liu Jianchao's Concerned Departments mocks the staggering complexity of life in the new urban China.

Traditional, experimental, and avant-garde, The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories will reinvigorate the position of young Chinese writers as a major presence in contemporary literature. Their voices breathe new energy into modern Chinese literature, leaving the literary and societal stagnation of the Cultural Revolution behind as a distant memory.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933330627
• ISBN13: 9781933330624
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
• Length: 438 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

EACH SHORT-SHORT STORY A PEARL

This is an excellent anthology of flash fiction, which the Chinese call "minute fiction," a reference to the time it takes to read each tale. Translated into English from Chinese, they are worthy of being called some of the best "minutes" in flash fiction time! Readers will be mesmerized by these stories that contain within their limited space a galaxy of entertainment. Do yourself a favor and purchase a copy today. Salvatore Buttaci author of Flashing My Shorts