看上去很美

by Wang Shuo

This book tells the story of a bunch of kids in No.29 Courtyard of Fuxing Road of Beijing. It talks about their stories happened on the playgrounds and canteens of the Courtyard as well as in the kindergarten and Cui Wei Primary School. With the views of a three-year-old boy named Fang Qiangqiang, Wang Shuo writes his own memory and imagination of that era. He says that the purpose of this book is to trace to the sources of his past works and even his personal life.

Genres: China, Chinese Literature

Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Wang Shuo(王朔) is a Chinese author, director, actor, and cultural icon. He has written over 20 novels, television series and movies. His work has been translated into Japanese, French, English, Italian, and many other languages. He has enormous cultural status in China and has become a nationally celebrated author.

Reviews

[Bún Ốc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chắc chắn người đọc sẽ tìm thấy chính mình trong một lý luận nào đó của cậu bé ngây ngô Phương Thương Thương. Mình tìm đọc cuốn này với hy vọng thấy một góc nhìn nào đó trong bối cảnh u ám của Cách mạng Văn hóa. Tuy nhiên, mình lại bị chìm đắm trong hồi ức tuổi thơ của chính mình. Hài hước, tự nhiên, ngây ngô, không khiên cưỡng, không "tỏ vẻ ngây ngô" như một số sách viết về thiếu nhi gần đây. Tác giả thực sự xuất sắc.

[Anran Sun · Rating 4 out of 5]

《看上去很美》是一部帶著濃濃自傳色彩的小說，以第一人稱視角回望一個在北京部隊大院長大的男孩的童年。那個年代，父母多半是軍人或機關幹部，整天忙於工作、開會、搞運動，孩子們實際上是被託管在幼稚園、託兒所或大院裡的集體生活中。表面上看去熱鬧、自由，卻又充滿規訓與疏離。只有經歷過那種特殊童年，改革開放前部隊大院或政府機關的子女，才有機會體驗這種類似孤兒院又明明有父母的童年體驗。大人世界高高在上，孩子世界自成一國，充滿荒誕、調皮與無人真正負責的混亂。

小說最動人的地方，在於王朔用近乎冷峻的幽默筆調，把那種「被集體養大」的荒謬感寫得淋漓盡致。那些老師、阿姨、保姆，表面嚴厲，內裡卻常常敷衍了事；父母們更像是遠方的符號，偶爾回家一趟，又匆匆離去。這種「有父母卻像沒父母」的狀態，造就了一種奇特的孤獨：孩子們必須在同伴之間建立自己的秩序、語言與價值觀，卻又隨時可能被大人世界的政治運動或突如其來的管教打斷。

王朔的敘述從不煽情，他用大量北京胡同式的俏皮話、孩子之間的狠話與遊戲，把那個時代的荒誕輕描淡寫地呈現出來。讀者一方面會被孩子們的「壞」逗得發笑，一方面又隱隱感到心酸——那種笑聲背後，是成人世界對童年的長期缺席與粗暴干涉。這種缺席並非惡意，而是那個時代的結構性問題：父母被國家、單位、運動綁架，孩子則被丟進另一種集體化的「養育」機器裡。

對讀者來說，這本書或許像是一部遙遠的時代檔案；但對真正在大院裡長大的那一批人而言，書中的每一幕幾乎都能勾起具體的記憶……那些細節如此真實，以至於讀完後會覺得，王朔不是在寫小說，而是在替一個世代的集體童年做證。

《看上去很美》表面看去很美，其實讓人心疼。它提醒我們，童年並不總是純粹的快樂天國，有時也可能是一種被時代與制度形塑的、帶著疏離與荒誕的特殊經驗。只有親身經歷過那段日子的人，才能真正懂那種滋味：明明有家，卻像在孤兒院；明明被管教，卻又無人真正關心。而這份懂，正是這本書最深刻也最私密的共鳴。看完了這本書，《動物兇猛》就完全在情理之中了。

[Yinxue · Rating 4 out of 5]

方枪枪让人想起阿Q。方枪枪让人笑成智障。方枪枪让人想抱。

王朔的笔，写活了太多画面和角色。首都地方文学，终于还原了中文本来的夺人呼吸的魅力。中国文坛，原来是有人的。

[Alex Xu · Rating 4 out of 5]

这书后半段写残了，结尾看着像跟前面不是同一个人写的一样，能看出王朔试图写出深度。不过这本很好玩

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely beautiful and had me in tears I would highly recommend this book

[Alexandra Fedotova · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic quasi-autobiographical novel about a little boy fighting against typical chinese Mao-era thinking and descovering himself during the "cultural revolution" period. The exceptional work of Wang Shuo.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this is how the little boy inside a grown-up man describes his childhood. Fantastic!