The Banner of Desire

Author: Ge Fei
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-09-01
Features: The novel revolves around an upcoming academic conference set in early 1990s Shanghai. The sudden mysterious suicide of the conference executive chair, Professor Jia Lanpo, is followed by a series of bizarre events. Song Zijin's madness, the arrest of the conference sponsors, and the love story between Zeng Shan and Zhang Mo are even more inexplicable: On one hand, they are trapped in the cage woven by desire; on the other hand, they try to break free from its constraints, revive the ancient poetic essence of love, and seek a sliver of genuine reality left in their lives. It is this very "genuine reality" that brings their hearts so close; yet at the same time, because of its fragility and "luxury," they are repeatedly pushed away. "Doubt" is the fundamental outline of their existence—the banner of desire rises; there is no comfort, no support, no destination, no reconciliation—leaving only a bewildered belief: to live in reality. The novel describes the desires that haunt people after the collapse of the overall value ethics of society, as well as the various manifestations of these desires.