The Glass World

Little Chinese girl Zhou Wei lives with her mother, Chen Xianglan, in a concrete high-rise building. The girl's father disappeared almost immediately after her birth, and Chen Xianglan, overwhelmed by despair, blames her daughter for everything, selfishly reveling in her own suffering. Zhou Wei grows up to be quiet, secretive, and very obedient, going through a whole series of "educators"—numerous relatives, classmates, and sophisticated friends—to ultimately almost repeat her mother's fate.

This tragic, sensual, painfully honest novel impresses with its vividness of language and the luxury of metaphors flowing into one another. Readers in the PRC have highly appreciated Kun Kun's artistic style, particularly noting the rich prose and vivid imagery of the characters. Now it is our turn to get acquainted with a new bright young voice in contemporary Chinese literature.