Introduction to "The Other World"
A contemporary realist novel that pays tribute to "The Ordinary World" and writes an epic of the ups and downs of Chinese Americans in the past ten years.
Brothers from Jiangxi farmers went to Los Angeles one after another and took root in foreign countries. The eldest brother, Ding Shougen, was down-to-earth and forbearing. He was stuck at the bottom of the overseas ladder, working as a cook, decorating, and doing odd jobs. He shouldered the burden of the family with the most clumsy work and swallowed the pain of wandering alone, just to keep the stability of his homeland and support his family's retreat. The younger brother Ding Wangchuan has ideals and studies abroad while working part-time. He struggles between Chinese and Western cultures. While facing racial and class gaps, he persists in his spiritual pursuit. He is unwilling to be mediocre but is repeatedly crushed by reality.
In the ten years from 2016 to 2026, the tide of the times swept across, with immigration tightening, epidemic turmoil, and inflation rolling in. The storms of the times crushed every ordinary wanderer. The two brothers walked parallel paths. One kept his head down to make a living, and the other looked up to find a way out. They experienced separation, embarrassment, confusion and growth.
The novel removes the overseas gilded filter and depicts the real suffering and perseverance of overseas Chinese with simple and sincere writing. There is no counterattack legend, only ordinary people gritting their teeth and rushing to leave their hometowns, expressing the homesickness, dignity and stubbornness of the wanderers: mountains and rivers are far away, and struggle is endless. Ordinary wandering is also a hot world.
