: Su Tong's "The Family"

Author: Su Tong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: The Story of a Wives and Concubines uses the unique feudal family model of old China as the framework for the novel, telling the story of a man who marries four women as his wives. However, the author is not concerned with how one man navigates among four women or controls them, but rather with how the four women tie themselves together on one man's neck and, like a withering vine in thin air, mutually strangle each other for that little bit of air. The Story of a Wives and Concubines is one of the most exquisite works in the genre of "new historical fiction." Due to its adaptation from the novel to the film Big Red Lantern, the relationship between serious literature and film has gradually become a hot topic in academic circles. Su Tong's novels possess a broad and gentle spirit, a moist atmosphere, a fantastical dreamlike quality, and a gentle demeanor.