Abandoned Capital
by Jia Pingwa
About This Novel
"The Wasted City" came out in 1993 and caused a sensation in the Chinese literary world. While receiving rave reviews, it also caused controversy. In 1997, "The Wasted City" won the Femina Prize, France's three major literary awards, and won international reputation. The novel fictionalizes a city in Xijing in the 1980s, and describes the love affairs of writer Zhuang Zhidie, one of the four major cultural celebrities in Xijing, and his depression, boredom, decadence, and ultimately destruction. In addition to depicting the characters' spiritual dilemma, the novel also has a meaningful depiction of social life, and there is a profound resonance between the two.
What Readers Think
Rating
Community(0)
Official(4)Scraped 21d ago
Pee, what his dad wrote looks like shit.
interesting
I like it, it looks good
There is something that needs to be savored carefully. The life of the literati in it, including food, daily life, and communication, is that the male protagonist has a good relationship with women, and his reputation makes him successful and destroys him.
Abandoned city, isn't it the city where I live? I see my own shadow in it, and it's not my own reflection. Desire covers the whole city, which is extremely absurd. Who can avoid being corroded? Human nature's need for ugly desires is actually greater than the fear caused by death. It's just that we don't recognize ourselves, because this is an abandoned city, a crippled and decadent version of ourselves.
Rating
Community(0)
Official(4)Scraped 21d ago
Pee, what his dad wrote looks like shit.
interesting
I like it, it looks good
There is something that needs to be savored carefully. The life of the literati in it, including food, daily life, and communication, is that the male protagonist has a good relationship with women, and his reputation makes him successful and destroys him.
Abandoned city, isn't it the city where I live? I see my own shadow in it, and it's not my own reflection. Desire covers the whole city, which is extremely absurd. Who can avoid being corroded? Human nature's need for ugly desires is actually greater than the fear caused by death. It's just that we don't recognize ourselves, because this is an abandoned city, a crippled and decadent version of ourselves.
