Red Guard Fantasies and Other Stories

by Shouhua Qi

Take a wild ride through contemporary Chinese society, which continues to accelerate at a blistering, unrestrained pace decades after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Red Guard Fantasies and Other Stories forces a reconciliation between China’s new urban sensibility and its centuries of tradition, and the results are certainly not predictable. Shouhua Qi’s stories are witty, poignant, absurd, and shocking. Part autobiographical, they offer a masterful depiction of the myriad world of jaded entrepreneurs, overzealous cops, karaoke addicts, dog lovers, liberated co-eds, and frustrated urbanites who move in and out of China’s colorful neon-lit cities and dusty rural villages; transitioning from one world to the other. Here is a China that is both superficial and plastic as well as profoundly righteous and moralistic. More than anything, Red Guard Fantasies is a deeply personal and powerfully moving elegy for China’s lost generation.

236 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[James Schlichter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first 4 stories and despite my appreciation for the insight into a world before unknown to me, I had such an aversion to the actual writing, I could not continue.

Qi's writing just felt so forced. Like every description was a struggle to find just the right word, a word or phrase which was never quite satisfactory. I'm not sure if the book is a translation, but it felt to me like a poor English version of itself.

I suggest you give it a try for yourself. Maybe you have more tolerance than I. The subject matter is worth the effort. I'm going to look for the same perspective somewhere else though.

[The other John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collections of short stories by a man who grew up during China's Cultural Revolution reminded me almost immediately of my time spent in China. The big difference, of course, is that I experienced China as a guest and a foreigner. For Dr. Qi's characters, on the other hand, China is their home and fatherland. (or is it motherland? I forget their preferred gender) Overall, I found the book to be somewhat poignant, though Mr. Qi also caused me to smile more than once. I was a bit surprised by the rampant adultery (never presented graphically) in the book. How accurately Dr. Qi caught that area of Chinese culture, I don't know. There was a lot that I missed during my brief time there. (Sheesh! Can that be taken the wrong way. Let me clarify: I had no interest in adultery in China. Nor did any adulterers proclaim their activities to me.)(If there was a Chinese equivalent to The Jerry Springer Show, I couldn't understand the language to watch it.) Anyway, it's a good book and I'm going to have to keep it on my shelf for those times when I'm missing my "home" in the Far East.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories of contemporary China by someone I met who teaches at Western CT State University. The endings are not at all predictable, which I like. In fact, the shapes of the stories are not usual either.
^^^^^^^^^
I finished the collection and I'm impressed. The stories cover a range of characters and situations, country pumpkins to the nouveau riche, men and women both. You really get a sense of the tensions of life in modern China.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. Stories about China's emergence into the modern world. It fills out an area of study mostly lacking when learning about China's culture and history.