The Misfortunes of Zhang the Elder

The Tragic Tale of Zhang Laoda is a realist period novel that vividly portrays the midlife struggles of the post-1980s generation. The story follows Zhang Laoda, a typical man from the bottom of society: hardworking and kind, but timid and long-winded. He spends his whole life laboring for his family, only to end up abandoned by everyone and consumed by endless sorrow.

The novel opens in the autumn of 2018. At a construction-site canteen stinging with the smell of diesel, Zhang Laoda receives a message from his son and learns that his wife, Liu Fang, is determined to divorce him and has already found someone new: a young man with a tattooed arm. The news cuts through the fragile peace he has woven over the years with self-deception. Zhang Laoda has long suspected his wife of being unfaithful, but to preserve the appearance of a complete family for their son, Zhang Xiaotao, he has chosen to endure it. He silently swallows his bitterness and humiliation, covering his inner turmoil with endless nagging and forced smiles.

But his forbearance does not bring peace to the family. Liu Fang grows ever more contemptuous and domineering toward him. Spoiled by his father and influenced by his mother, Xiaotao becomes selfish and cold, taking his father's sacrifices for granted. The only thing he ever talks to his father about is asking for money. When he gets into college and leaves home, the last thread holding together their marriage in name only snaps. Liu Fang wastes no time filing for divorce and throwing herself into her new lover's arms.

After the divorce, Zhang Laoda falls into even deeper hardship: he leaves with almost nothing, loses his family, and his son heads straight to his mother's during school breaks, paying him no mind...