California girl

Author: Zhang Jiawei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: In May 2004, I received the SMS mentioned at the beginning of the novel. About a week later, I started thinking about writing a story. This story was different from what I had written before. First, this time I didn’t set it in ancient times, and second, the way of telling the story might be different from before. So, impulsively, I set out to find that record. During a 24-hour journey, encounters with reality, a virtual dream about 1960s America, and the emotions and memories of two other girls formed the narrative progression of the story. At the end, when "I" finally found myself lost between the two ends due to indecisive actions, I was left alone, trapped on the platform, stuck between advancing and retreating. The author of this book is one of the five top young writers of the post-80s generation, Zhang Jiawei. The novel describes a certain afternoon in May, where "I" learns that my first love, M, is about to get married and recalls her favorite song, "La La Land." The novel is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 7: Love. Chapters 2 and 6: The Necklace. Chapters 3 and 5: On the Road. Chapter 4: THEEND. It parodies various styles of writing, including those of Marguerite Duras, Claude Simon, Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Haruki Murakami, and Ryu Murakami. It tells three fables about the 1960s, cowardice, loneliness, obsession, and emptiness. Zhang Jiawei is a very talented young writer. His previous works focused on ancient history, but this novel shifts to contemporary campus life. The work breaks away from traditional plot writing, emphasizing detailed descriptions, a delicate sense, precise language, and a certain readability.