Half a lifetime of fate

Author: Eileen Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: The backdrop of Eileen Chang's novels is desolation. Eileen Chang's desolation is a pessimistic lament, a sensitive and delicate lament of a woman. Grand themes like the era, the nation, and revolution are condensed into a scene or a corner of family life. The vast waves of society are distant and fleeting, while the ordinary joys and sorrows of ordinary men and women endure. It is the twists and turns, the ups and downs that form the essence of life. He had known Manzhen long ago. Counting back, it had already been fourteen years—quite a shock! It instantly made him feel that he had aged considerably. Time flies, especially for those in middle age; ten or eight years seem like the blink of an eye. But for the young, three or five years can be a lifetime. From the time he met Manzhen to when they broke up, it had only been a few years. Yet in those years, so many things had happened, as if he had experienced all the joys and sorrows of life, birth, aging, and death. Manzhen once asked him when he had started to like her. He naturally replied, "The very first time I saw her." The words came out in such a state of intoxication that he could believe anything, and of course, he absolutely believed it wasn't a lie. But in truth, he couldn't even remember when the very first time he had seen her.