Years of Red Dust
 First edition (French) | |
| Author | Qiu Xiaolong |
|---|---|
| Original title | Cité de la Poussière rouge |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Short stories |
| Published | French translation in 2008 English book in 2010 |
| Pages | 240 |
| ISBN | 9781429942614 |
Years of Red Dust is a collection of short stories by Qiu Xiaolong. The book in English was published in 2010;[1] but the stories were originally published in Le Monde[1] and a book in French was published in 2008.[2]
It is a story about China between 1949 and 2005, told through changes experienced by people living in the Red Dust neighbourhood in Shanghai.[3]
Plot[edit]
Each chapter tells a story from a different year, consisting of two strands, slice-of-life personal histories of ordinary people living in Red Dust Lane, mixed with the ever-changing narrative of China’s socialist history.[4] Most of the stories begin with non-fiction excerpts from wall newspapers of China's past.[5] Incidents involve neighbors who are academics, those who own businesses, those who join the military, as well as manual laborers. One chapter includes a fictionalized account, based on a real life event, of preparations for the day U.S. President Richard Nixon visited Shanghai.[6]
The setting is in Shanghai where "the flow of the green slime of corruption, pollution and greed (for money), races with the flow of blood and champagne", according to Aftenposten.[7]
Sales[edit]
The book has been on best-seller lists in France and Germany.[8]
Translations[edit]
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The book has been translated to other languages, including:
- French: Cité de la poussière rouge, translated from English by Fanchita Gonzalez Batlle, éditions Liana Levi, 2008 (ISBN 978-2-86746-665-6).
- German: Das Tor zur Roten Gasse.
- Norwegian: År i rødt støv (2011).[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b http://us.macmillan.com/yearsofreddust/QiuXiaolong (page visited on 4 February 2014).
- ^ (in French), Qiu Xiaolong, Cité de la poussière rouge, translated from English by Fanchita Gonzalez Batlle, éditions Liana Levi, 2008 (ISBN 978-2-86746-665-6).
- ^ Astrid Hygen Meyer, "Historiene om Kina fortalt gjennom nabolaget Rødt Støv, vil fortsette å komme, sier forfatteren", Klassekampen, 3 September 2011, page 3.
- ^ Daisy Yan Du, 2011. University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln The China Beat Blog Archive 2008-2012. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1924&context=chinabeatarchive
- ^ Astrid Hygen Meyer, "Historie i boka ... innledes med et ekte utdrag fra en kinesisk veggavis.", Klassekampen, 3 September 2011, page 3.
- ^ Hanchoa Lu. 2018. "Shanghai flora: the politics of urban greening in Maoist China" Urban History, Volume 45, Issue 4, November 2018, pp. 660-68.
- ^ Bodil Fuhr, "Shanghai. Der beskriver han korrupsjon, forurensning, og pengegriskhet så det grønne slimet renner om kapp med blod og champagne", Aftenposten, 3 September 2011, page 3.
- ^ a b Astrid Hygen Meyer, Klassekampen, 3 September 2011, page 3.
Further reading[edit]
- Jess Row, "The News From Shanghai", The New York Times Book Review, 17 October 2010, Arts and Entertainment, p. 21. Available on Academic OneFile.
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