I Live in the Slums

April 1, 2020

An elderly bachelor cicada identifies with a spider, emblem of death. A magpie puzzles over the school gardener, who kills or drives off its family and is finally seen rather gleefully raking over the graves after multiple deaths in a local fire. A ratlike creature that seemingly recalls a cold countryside but insists "I live in the slums. I was born here" cannot understand the intentions of its host family--are they offering aid or intent on murder?--yet perseveres, an upbeat, gentle soul. A man trying to find the vanished swamp once darkly beckoning at the heart of his city undertakes a mysterious journey, with people seemingly waiting to help at every turn (and spiritual piglets offering a special connection--animals figure largely here). Such is the eerie, unpredictable, cracked and crazy world purveyed in this new story collection from leading Chinese experimentalist Can Xue, whose trenchant undertones impart a distinct unease. VERDICT Sheer reading pleasure for sophisticated readers and a worthy starting point for initiates.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2020
Can Xue (Frontier, 2017; Love in the New Millennium, 2018) presents another exquisite collection of short stories. In his solitude, an elderly bachelor cicada is disturbed by the deaths he observes from a young boy's slingshot and the web of a quiet spider. A woman's malignant cousin reminds her of a locked box that becomes the center of malicious rumors after she refuses to break it open and reveal her father's secrets. A magpie and his wife witness the landscape around their home change from a single primary school to a bustling suburban neighborhood. A boy leaves his bright and vibrant community to venture down into a seemingly abandoned tin workshop. Bored by his own circumstances, he finds great pleasure in discovering a group of uncountable people shrouded by darkness, but he quickly discovers they have curiosities of their own. Can Xue is a master at twisting philosophical ideas into realities that seem simple but are incredibly thoughtful and intricate. These 16 poetic stories have astonishing depth that will transfix readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)