{"product_id":"blue-light-in-the-sky-other-stories-9780811216487","title":"Blue Light in the Sky \u0026 Other Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003eA selection of harsh, sometimes violent, and often surreal stories by the premier young avant-garde Chinese woman writer.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A couple moves with their young daughter to the seaside, only to be terrorized by hostile townsfolk, predatory seabirds, and the persistent sound of the waves. Two old friends spend their waning days traipsing amongst ruined walls, imagining bubbling brooks and lush marshland. An old man lives atop a bizarre wooden building in the clouds, where he is served pancakes by a hostile youth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e These are the scenarios of just some of the stories in this generous new collection by Can Xue. Although rooted in the folk traditions of Chinese literature and the real conflicts of contemporary Chinese life, Can Xue's stories exist in a separate space and time where dreams and reality coalesce: tenderness quickly turns to violence, strange diseases are caught, and quaint landscapes become phantasmagorical. Can Xue's literary world is inhabited by ghosts, dying old men, street urchins, cobblers, farmers, cats, rats, and stray dogs. Much influenced by Borges, Kafka, and Bruno Schulz, this new collection of Can Xue's surreal stories confirms \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times'\u003c\/i\u003e assessment that reading Can Xue's fiction is like running downhill in the dark; you've got momentum, but you don't know where you're headed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New Directions Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/17\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780811216487\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 212\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.54lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.04h x 5.24w x 0.56d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/24\/2006 pg. 38\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/24\/2006 pg. 22\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMulticultural Review\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2007 pg. 52\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Zeping Chen, Karen Gernant, Can Xue","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42917041963189,"sku":"9780811216487","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_6339cb97-40ca-4b88-aae7-703977101fac.jpg?v=1687276069","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/blue-light-in-the-sky-other-stories-9780811216487","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}