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Can Xue:激情世界 (The Enchanting Lives of Others)

Our initial heroine – there will be others – isXiao Sang . She lives in the presumably fictitious town of Meng (which means beautiful in Chinese). She works in a department store and she has a very close friend, Xiao Ma who also works there. For both of them, but forXiao Sang in particular, reading is perhaps the most important thing in their lives. Xiao Sang held the stubborn belief that if an author were unable to weave the book’s contents into her everyday life, then it wasn’t a book she needed to read. Indeed, as we soon discover one of the key themes of this novel is how fiction and life intertwine to a great extent.

Xiao Sang has another friend. He is an older man, Uncle Yi and of of course also an enthusiastic reader. He lives in the same building as her.

Xiao Sang is currently reading a book whose title and content we do not know but which she considers wonderful, a view that will be later shared by others. Among other things it helps to reconnect with her past and her dead loved ones. Other things happen link the book with her life. For example the sky is suddenly very bright for no reason and then she realises that she is not looking at the real sky but the sky in the book.

However, one day she bumps into Heishi, a former classmate whom she had not seen for awhile. He invites her to join his g book group. The group has an interesting discussion o about the book that she is reading and they welcome her views. When she gets home, it turns out that uncle.Yi knows Heishi as he is the son of Yi’s ex-girlfriend

The next time she goes to the book club, she is unable to find it as the streets seem different. She is finally led to the right place by a young girl she meets in the street. This happens again later.

As well as a strange book and the strange book club, other strange things happen. For example when she and Uncle Yi are outside reading, they see a couple of leopards stroll by. This does not seem unusual to them.

Gradually some of the individuals they know pair off but again it is not straightforward and they are not the ones we thought might do so.

This is quite a long book and we are going to follow quite a few relationships as they progress and, in some cases do not progress or do not or progress in the way we and the other characters might expect. Parents come into play and, in one case a daughter helps her parents with their rocky marriage, not least by encouraging them to read.

However linked to these stories are what might be described as literary issues. The people meet in book clubs and bookshops, they share a love of books, one book in particular whose title and content, as mentioned, we never learn. Time passes day by day, and I feel things inside me changing, as if I’m no longer myself. I admire the author’s talent, and at the same time I think: if someone like him could cultivate a vision like that, couldn’t I give it a try myself” is just one of the comments made.

We know one man has some favourites, both classical and modern Chinese, but again we do not know what their titles are. Very few books are mentioned by title but those that are include The Divine Comedy, Anna Karenina and Faust. No Chinese book is mentioned by name.

The key point of this book is that the various books they read, including the special one just mentioned, seem to take over the lives of some of the characters. They recognise. scenes, locations, characters and so on in their ordinary lives. In short their real lives and ttheir reading lives become one.

And of course, not only , do they do they read the books but they also talk about the books in their book club, called the Pigeon Club, as well as we with one another, particularly between lovers.

The books influence them in other ways.For example, one character says.because of this book, my sense of hearing has become sharper. Within just three months, I’ve heard many sounds that I never heard before
In some cases they go beyond reading and talking about them. One of the characters becomes a successful author while others study literature.

While reading and literature are very important ,the bulk of the book does seem to be about the relationships. One interesting aspect is that awhile relationships do break up for various reasons or occasionally and do not work, there seems to be little bitterness or recrimination. Virtually the only time we do see bitterness is with the two parents mentioned previously and their issues are soon settled by their daughter.

Of course a certain amount of matchmaking goes on and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. There is a general feeling that people are better off in a loving relationship than on their own. In addition it s felt that a good book also helps if you are on your own. However if you are to have a good relationship, it is importation that your partner enjoys reading as well.

So a good books and a loving partner are the essential ingredients for a good life, something with which I can fully concur. Throw in some good food, good book-loving friends and a bit of mystery and you are all set.

Publishing history

First published 2022 by People’s Literature Publishing House
First English translation in 2o26 by Yale University Press
Translated by Annelise Finegan