The Years/年华 [Chinese]

By: 徐统存

Though all are alike in limbs and features, each person's fate is uniquely their own. 人人四肢五官各个相似，然而人人命运各个不同 There are quite a few writers who, after serving in the military, were demobilized and transferred to civilian work. Xu Tongcun is one of them. The protagonist of his novel The Years, Yu Tonghua, leads a richly varied life. His journey begins in a rural village in northern Jiangsu by the Yellow Sea, where the author paints vivid scenes of farm life. He then enlists in the military in the Central Plains region, offering readers a glimpse into barracks and military academy life, as well as the dynamics of both combat and local forces. After being demobilized, he takes on the role of secretary in a provincial urban district committee, allowing us to witness, through the protagonist's eyes, the social landscape and developmental changes of Jiangnan. The novel's dramatic shifts and transitions across settings make Yu Tonghua's experiences all the more winding and compelling. Throughout, the author focuses intently on character development, drawing deeply from his own personal experiences and artistic sensibility. This approach grants readers an unexpected connection with Yu Tonghua, offering profound insight into the transformations within both military and civilian life over China's forty-plus years of reform and opening up. It is this that imbues the novel with a distinctive literary value-making it a work that rewards careful reading and lingers in the mind long after the final page. The Years is a novel worthy of readers across generations and professions, and comes highly recommended. - Jiang Zilong 当过兵转业到地方的作家不少，徐统存是其中一位。他的长篇小说《年华》主人公余统华生活经历丰富，出发地是黄海边的苏北农村，作者给我们展示了一幅幅苏北农家生活画卷。随后到中原参军，让我们了解了军营和军校生活，了解作战部队和地方部队情况。转业后他又担任省城区委秘书一职，让我们从主人公的视域中看到了江南的社会形态和发展变化。小说中场景的大跨度和大转化，使主人公的种种经历显得更加曲折，更加精彩。作者始终着力于人物形象的塑造，这其中得力于作者的亲身经历和艺术表现力，让我们从余统华这个人物形象上，产生了意想不到的阅读感受，感受到中国改革开放四十多年中军队和地方生活状态的深刻变化，也使这部小说体现出不一样的文学价值，使小说耐读耐品，回味悠长。长篇小说《年华》，值得不同年龄段、不同职业群体品读，特别推荐。 --蒋子龙

• Format: Paperback
• Language: Chinese
• ISBN: 7521210026
• ISBN13: 9787521210026
• Release Date: November 2020
• Publisher: China National Publications Import & Export C
• Length: 426 Pages
• Weight: 1.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.2"