Booming growth

Author: Liu Qing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This novel can basically be categorized as a coming-of-age story. Liu Qing patiently narrates the development and changes over the past few decades, with a sociological specificity and profound cognitive impact. However, its connotation and extension can clearly be far broader. On the surface, the novel seems to tell the life story of Li Songguo, the protagonist, who is both mentally and physically disabled, through his experiences over the past few decades: from the shadow of the Cultural Revolution to the positive and negative effects of China's market economy in the 1980s and 1990s, leaving a deep imprint on an individual's life, until 1996, when Li Songguo reached the peak of his career—becoming a master of pyramid schemes, commanding influence, and gathering a large number of people who were full of hope and despair, all dreaming of sudden wealth. This is the third long by author Liu Qing. The work follows the growth journey of Li Songguo, a disabled person born in the 1960s, with the timeline spanning the 1960s and 1990s. The Cultural Revolution, its end, the craze for orchids, the confusion of people in the early days of reform, and specific events of the pyramid scheme during a particular period—all are told from the perspective of a protagonist who faces severe discrimination. The narrative is both legendary and absurd. Using irony, the author portrays the tragic distortion of human nature in a weighty and gripping manner. The novel's narrative technique is skillful, and the relationships and joys and sorrows among the characters leave readers deeply moved. The critique of "" (social ills) is also sharp and insightful. It is a rare and outstanding long in recent years.