Codicil

Author: Yan Geling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: This book collects eight short stories including "Pacific Tango," "Black Shadow," "Thirteen Beauties of Jinling," and "Xiao Gu's Love Story." "The Confidante" is a newly created collection of middle-length stories by the renowned Chinese-American female writer Yan Geling. The Confidante" tells the story of the female protagonist Qiao Hongmei receiving letters from an online stranger. His almost god-like perception ability makes her feel the desire to open up and confess the secrets of her own heart: her childhood in a Jiangnan village, her exotic love affair with her husband, Grant, the hidden wounds behind their stable and mundane married life. Who is he? Almost like a ghost, he knows everything about her: her birthmark on her arm, her habit of biting nails when anxious, the "remarkable sensuality" of the glass beads adorning her feet, and even the subtle ripples in her emotional world. The story unfolds amidst the tense suspense of searching for the confidante, guiding readers into a human world intertwined with trauma and tenderness, desire and ethical entanglements. At the same time, it explores the eternal truths of love and marriage within the sensitive and private emotional world and the space of discourse.