Ordinary world tells the story of ordinary people who lives in the countryside in 1970s in China. During that special social context, people’s lives are heavily influenced by the social structure and by the rules from the government. They have done a lot of inordinate crazy stuff which has harmed the people, culture and society. Through the stories of people at the bottom level of Chinese society, you can get a miniature of what it is like during that special historical period.
Aww, a teenage love story that ends with the girl dumping the boy because the girl found a richer kid! How adorable and sadly accurate to the current world!
Seriously though, this is one of the few novels that actually made me feel a giant mixture of emotions. It started out sweet, then it gradually turned sour and bitter.
Great novel. I loved the insights on the challenges to social mobility for talented people from rural areas and the strong status thinking among officials even in pre-reform China.