/lit/ - Literature

>>20312834
Invisible Planets - Ken Liu, translator and editor (2016)

Cultural context certainly is important. That was evident for almost all of these stories. I may have enjoyed them more otherwise. The focus tended to be on the theme, imagery, or style, rather than the characters, setting, or an idea.

(Chinese/English Year)

The Year of the Rat - Chen Qiufan (2009/2013)
College students are conscripted to fight against genetically engineered rats, who may be both far more and less than they seem, as is everything in their life.
Meh

The Fish of Lijiang - Chen Qiufan (2006/2011)
A man goes to rehab only to find everything has changed. All is artifice and deception. The text says it's based on the philosophy of Henri Bergson. The passage of time and power are stated to be inversely related.
Meh

The Flower of Shazui - Chen Qiufan (2012/2012)
A fugitive refugee becomes infatuated with the most famous prostitute. They're wary of each other's motives, but even so they will use each other for their own ends.
Ok

A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight - Xia Jia (2010/2012)
A town of "ghosts", one who isn't, and the calamity that befalls them.
Meh

Tongtong’s Summer - Xia Jia (2014/2014)
This is the the most realized telepresence story of the several I've read. It's very optimistic, but also sad.
Enjoyable

Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse - Xia Jia (2015/2016)
A 47 ton sentient dragon-horse robot awakens in disrepair to begins to travel across the Earth, which is in ruin. It's like a fairy tale, but not quite that.
Meh

The City of Silence - Ma Boyong (2005/2011)
A satire about extreme censorship. The State continually decreases the number of allowable words. Online, everything is monitored. Offline, everyone must wear a device that monitors all speech. The protagonist finds a secret offline club that evades these strictures. They're all fatalistic hedonists. How familiar.
Enjoyable

Invisible Planets - Hao Jingfang (2010/2013)
A series of short description of various planets and their inhabitants.
Ok

Folding Beijing - Hao Jingfang (2014/2015)
An allegorical story about injustice, inequality, and parental sacrifice in a rotational sleep society. It's very well-regarded, but everything about it put me off.
Meh

Call Girl - Tang Fei (2014/2013)
A misleading title and set-up. A teenage girl gives a middle-aged man an experience he'll never forgot. This too is not what it seems to mean.
Meh

Grave of the Fireflies - Cheng Jingbo (2005/2014)
Almost all the stars have been extinguished, which leads them to a world with a colossal robot whose interior stops the flow of time.
Meh

The Circle - Liu Cixin (2015/2014)
A chapter adapted from The Three-Body Problem. I didn't read it again. People can be arranged to form a computer.
Meh

Taking Care of God - Liu Cixin (2005/2012)
Billions of ancient humans come to Earth as their retirement plan and ask to be taken care of.
Meh

There are also three essays.