Path of Desire

Author: Wang Dajin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-03-01
Features: The story of a university graduate from a rural background struggling in the power structures and ultimately achieving "success"! Young student Deng Yiqun, after graduation, refuses to accept his destiny and goes to great lengths to stay in the provincial government agency. Determined to rise through the ranks, he undergoes immense pain and anxiety, selling his integrity, and eventually marries a city woman, becoming a section chief and deputy director. His desires continue to, and his humanity descends further into depravity. The book vividly portrays Deng Yiqun's entanglements with several women: Wang Fangfang, whom he meets by chance; bold Lin Meimei; innocent Ge Suqin; Dang Auntie, who is older than his mother; and his hysterically pursuing but unloved wife, Xiao Ruyu. It explores sexuality and love, manipulation and being manipulated, and vividly recreates a treacherous, hedonistic, and lustful official world. Some critics argue it rivals The Plum in the Golden Vase in its excellence!