Wild Goose Lake

Told through the narrator’s firsthand experiences and the warmth of her grandmother’s stories, this novel unfolds across more than eighty years, from the birth of the narrator’s maternal grandfather in the early twentieth century to her graduation from high school and farewell to Yange Lake in the late 1980s. Set against a sweeping historical backdrop, Yange Lake serves as both the emotional anchor and geographic heart of the story, evoking the exquisite beauty of old Jiangnan, veiled in mist and rain. The novel follows the fortunes of Jiangnan’s farmers throughout the twentieth century: they struggle to survive amid war, rise up against the invading Japanese army, bravely resist exploitation by landlords, and witness the dawn of victory in the War of Liberation. Later, they follow their leaders’ example and pour their hearts into rebuilding their homes, finally escaping hardship and finding a peaceful, secure life. Over those more than eighty years, the people of Yange Lake were once as fragile as the reeds along its banks, easily bent and broken, yet they were even more like the reeds’ deep roots, tenacious and unyielding. No matter how fiercely the wildfires burned, they sprang back with the spring breeze, writing a testament to the indomitable strength of ordinary lives amid the storms of their times.