En prisvindende kinesisk bestseller. Oprindeligt blev bogen forbudt i Kina, men den er siden anerkendt som en af de ti mest indflydelsesrige bøger i landet.
âAt leveâ er den rørende historie om en mands forvandling fra forkĂŚlet rigmandssøn til godhjertet bonde. Kulturrevolutionen bliver et bagtĂŚppe, som ĂŚndrer det kinesiske samfund fundamentalt, og det fĂĽr uoverstigelige konsekvenser for individet.
Før revolutionen trÌder Fugui bogstavelig talt pü de i forvejen nedtrykte. Kontrasten mellem hans status før og efter revolutionen er skÌrende. Han ødsler familiens formue vÌk i spillebuler og bordeller, før han dybt angrende forsøger sig med det simplere bondeliv. Men Fuguis prøvelser er langt fra ovre.
Det bliver til en bog fuld af enestüende billeder, der pü Ên gang beretter om historisk tid og i samme nu beskriver tidløse menneskelige problemstillinger.
âA work of astounding emotional power.â
â Dai Sijie, author of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
âYu Hua is the most profound voice coming out of China today. âTo Liveâ reaches not only into the very essence of China and the Chinese people but into the blood and bones core of what it means to be a human being.â
â Lisa See, author of âOn Gold Mountainâ
âA Chinese Book of Job, âTo Liveâ is a heart-wrenching saga, written with beauty, defiance, and hope. Yu Huaâs books deserve a place on the highest shelf.â
â Wang Ping, author of âAching for Beauty and Foreign Devilâ
âA major contemporary novelist, Yu Hua writes with a cold eye but a warm heart. His novels are ingeniously structured and exude a mythical aura. Though unmistakably Chinese, they are universally resonant.â
â Ha Jin, author of âWaitingâ
âA book of subtle power and poignant drama. You love Yu Huaâs characters because they are flawed, vibrant, soulful, and real: you celebrate with them the small wonders of life, and feel their pain as they overcome tragedy. Ultimately, To Live is a redemptive story of the human spirit, one that is universal in its emotional depth.â
â Terrence Cheng, author of âSons of Heavenâ