Running Through Beijing
Xu Zechen, Eric Abrahamsen (translation)“The novel captures the taste & tension of Beijing better than any I’ve ever read.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
Americans mostly know Chinese literature as political literature—think Mo Yan, the Cultural Revolution, dissidents, & censorship—but there’s a whole other world of punk lit chronicling the harsh realities faced by the millions living in China’s mega-cities.
Meet Dunhuang: just out of prison for selling fake IDs, he has barely enough money for a meal. He also has no place to stay, no friends to call on, & no prospects for earning more yuan. When he happens to meet a pretty woman selling pirated DVDs on the road, he falls into both an unexpected romance & a new business venture. But when her on-and-off boyfriend steps back into the picture, Dunhuang is forced to make some tough decisions.
In Running through Beijing, leading young Chinese author Xu Zechen draws on his actual experiences & real-life friends to guide us through an underworld of constant thievery, hard-core porn, cops (both real & impostors), prison, bribery, crazy landladies, rampant drinking, & the smothering, bone-dry dust storms that blanket one of the world’s largest cities in thick layers of grime. Like a literary Run Lola Run, it follows a hustling hero rushing at breakneck speed to stay just one step ahead of a world constantly fighting to drag him down. Full of action, surprises, heartfelt sentiment, & well-drawn, authentic citizens from the People’s Republic, Running through Beijing is a masterful performance from a writer who knows underground China inside & out.
°°°Xu Zechen is the author of the novels Midnight’s Door, Night Train, Heaven on Earth, & Running Through Beijing. He was selected by People’s Literature as one of the “Future 20” best Chinese writers under 41.
Eric Abrahamsen is the recipient of translation grants from PEN & the NEA & has written for the New York Times, among other