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  2. Comment on "As the North Wind Howled" by Yu Hua in ~books

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    The New Yorker's summer short fiction series is one of my favorite publications for literary short/flash fiction - I really recommend browsing through various pieces, and their past archives This...

    The New Yorker's summer short fiction series is one of my favorite publications for literary short/flash fiction - I really recommend browsing through various pieces, and their past archives

    This author Yu Hua (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua) - is part of a generation of avant-garde/postmodern Chinese writers - he and his contemporaries were generally children growing up during the Cultural Revolution, and these experiences heavily shaped/influenced their writing - you might call them "magic realism", but it's more Kafka-esque magic realism than Borges-style

    Their critiques of contemporary Chinese society/government are often indirect, layered in symbolism and imagery

    This story has a dream-like dissociative quality, and examines themes of bureaucracy, family ties, and personal history/memory - I'd love to hear your interpretation/thoughts

    Tugging desperately, I was finally able to retrieve my hand, on the pretext that I needed it to wipe away my own tears, though I had none. Then I said, “Actually, I’ve thought of you as my mother for a long time now.” I had no choice but to say that.

    (To bypass TNY's paywall, you can open a browser in private mode, or clear cookies)

    this is my first tildes post / attempt at literary discussion - let me know if you have any thoughts/suggestions about the link/formatting, or if this is something that'd be interesting for the community

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