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.

’At leve’ er den rørende historie om en mands forvandling fra forkælet rigmandssøn til godhjertet bonde. Kulturrevolutionen bliver et bagtæppe, som ændrer det kinesiske samfund fundamentalt, og det får uoverstigelige konsekvenser for individet.

Før revolutionen træder Fugui bogstavelig talt på de i forvejen nedtrykte. Kontrasten mellem hans status før og efter revolutionen er skærende. Han ødsler familiens formue væk 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 enestående billeder, der på én gang beretter om historisk tid og i samme nu beskriver tidløse menneskelige problemstillinger.

“A work of astounding emotional power.”

– Dai Sijie, author of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

“Yu Hua is the most profound voice coming out of China today. ‘To Live’ 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.”

– Lisa See, author of ’On Gold Mountain’

“A Chinese Book of Job, ’To Live’ is a heart-wrenching saga, written with beauty, defiance, and hope. Yu Hua’s books deserve a place on the highest shelf.”

– Wang Ping, author of ’Aching for Beauty and Foreign Devil’

“A 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.”

– Ha Jin, author of ’Waiting’

“A book of subtle power and poignant drama. You love Yu Hua’s 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.”

– Terrence Cheng, author of ’Sons of Heaven’