Reunion
by Yang Yunsu
About This Novel
This is the first full-length memoir novel by Yang Yunsu (Before the Storm in the Hometown). The story happened during the Spring Festival of 1999. "I", my then-boyfriend Tan Sheng, and Tan Sheng's parents returned to their hometown of Chaoshan. The first time she appeared in this huge family as a prospective daughter-in-law, she was naturally warmly received by her relatives. But when "I" further integrated into this family, I discovered the turbulence hidden under the lively and harmonious surface, as well as the imminent family war... This book vividly presents the complex Chinese family relationships with delicate writing techniques and picturesque text. There are deep feelings that are thicker than water, but also those unspeakable gloomy moments such as hypocrisy, unbearableness, and weakness. Although the trauma of the original family cannot be healed, everyone is trying to reconcile with the family in their own way. Maybe you will have a strong resonance after reading it. Every smile and every move of your relatives seems familiar. This is also a close-up of Chinese-style family relationships, which makes us feel that it is not blood relations that truly maintain family ties, but respect and understanding between each other in life.
What Readers Think
Rating
Community(0)
Official(3)Scraped 21d ago
The vivid and interesting writing style makes you feel like you have taken a trip to Chaozhou, walked the streets and alleys there, ate all kinds of snacks, and met relatives of all sizes in the Chen family. You are immersed in the conflicting but warm family relationship in the big family, and you have a glimpse of the suffering but strong life of the elders. Some of the elders in the novel have always been kind and tolerant, but at special moments they suddenly reveal a completely different side, as if they have made up their minds to surprise the guests; some at first make people worry about their vulgarity, but after unfolding their ups and downs in their lives, they find that what they want is just "love"... All these, trivial and smart, subtle and selfless, like strawberries dipped in syrup, make people want to stop, and can't help but read it in one sitting.
It describes the complexity of family relationships, which is amazing
The psychological portrayal of the characters is comparable to that of "Fortress Besieged". The absurdity of China's human society and the helpless struggles of individuals in it are shown in the street fireworks. It also shows the goodness in the deep structure of human nature in the construction of different character situations.
Rating
Community(0)
Official(3)Scraped 21d ago
The vivid and interesting writing style makes you feel like you have taken a trip to Chaozhou, walked the streets and alleys there, ate all kinds of snacks, and met relatives of all sizes in the Chen family. You are immersed in the conflicting but warm family relationship in the big family, and you have a glimpse of the suffering but strong life of the elders. Some of the elders in the novel have always been kind and tolerant, but at special moments they suddenly reveal a completely different side, as if they have made up their minds to surprise the guests; some at first make people worry about their vulgarity, but after unfolding their ups and downs in their lives, they find that what they want is just "love"... All these, trivial and smart, subtle and selfless, like strawberries dipped in syrup, make people want to stop, and can't help but read it in one sitting.
It describes the complexity of family relationships, which is amazing
The psychological portrayal of the characters is comparable to that of "Fortress Besieged". The absurdity of China's human society and the helpless struggles of individuals in it are shown in the street fireworks. It also shows the goodness in the deep structure of human nature in the construction of different character situations.
