她們

by Yan Lianke

最具影響也最受爭議的中國當代作家閻連科
精心醞釀十年‧全新長篇散文集
深刻思索女性生而為人的困乏與她們的命運路徑

無論是「作為女人的人」，還是「作為人的女人」，她們首先都是人。
作為人的首要條件就是理解和愛，不是疏遠、嫉恨和隔離。


閻連科：「我常想，善良作為人的美德存在時，在女性身上是更易招引悲劇的。男人的善，常會滑入、落墜到無能的深淵裡。而女人、女性之善良，又多都注定自己一生之悲涼。不是說惡是人生美好的推動力，而是說，是什麼土壤才讓大地長出的蘋果有苦味，讓甘甜的杏和梨子掛在樹上還是杏和梨，而一經摘下落到人的手裡和世界，就成了杏乾、梨乾或腐物？為什麼在我們的世情環境裡，男人的善良常常是無能，女人、女性的善良又最常招來惡或悲劇呢？」


2014年，長篇小說《四書》獲得卡夫卡文學獎
2015年，小說《受活》日文版獲得日本twitter文學獎
2016年，長篇小說《日熄》獲得第六屆紅樓夢獎首獎
2017年，長篇小說《炸裂志》第三次提名國際布克文學獎


＝內容簡介＝

被時代包裹、被塵世價值隱隱要脅著的女性，
以人的身分在白晝奮起、黑夜伏行，以柔軟與坦然抵抗外在所有的齟齬。

《她們》是閻連科書寫家族裡外四代女性的散文集，一個又一個或熟悉或陌生的女性，他以情意低斂深長的文字，點出難以言明的女人與家族心底事。

他寫愛看書的大姊，她的閱讀形象是如此靜美，大姊在書中找到另外一個世界，那個世界要比現實更為新奇、罕見和理想，於是閻連科也跟著閱讀閒書，自此受到啟蒙觸發愛好文學。關於二姊，從一開始的脾性不合，到後來古道熱腸的二姊對他諸多默默的扶助閻連科看在眼底、牢牢刻於心盤上。

談到家族的女性長輩們——他從大姑姑的婚姻探討多種人生面向：對於婦女解放運動、婚姻自由、生育、非生育的選擇和自願，以及鄉村教育與環境的矛盾與融合等等。說到愛唱戲的大娘面對苦難的唱腔：她是從年輕一直哼唱到老的女腔音，是來自生命對生活和命運的砥礪與堅韌，是迎對苦難能如海可容納百川般的樂天。

閻連科更以一整章撰寫大字不識一個、作為典型鄉村勞動者的母親，雖然閻連科以幽微的戲謔口吻說母親是「一棵榆樹的倒下，決定了母親的一生」，卻深深欽服母親常能自然說出深富哲理的話語。

末尾，寫起和寶貝小孫女的互動，筆觸如是柔軟、甜馨，閻連科寫小孫女在遊樂園裡坐著旋轉木馬、鐵軌小火車和吃著冰淇淋，感受到新生命帶給他內心的綿長喜悅，在竹林、樹林、湖面的船上和遊樂場的邊上，祖孫倆傻呼呼的討論世界、物事，時光彷彿凝滯在最美好的一刻。

／／

「我無法明白她們到底是因為女人才算做了人，還是因為之所以是著人，也才是了如此這般的女人們。」

女人的生活不知道何年何月，轉瞬變成荒原沽河……
為何一生必得從一個家庭被抹去，又隱匿在另一個家族裡？
能不能讓她們問一問自己是誰？身為一個人是什麼模樣？

閻連科走訪田調家鄉許多特立獨行的女性們，探查她們的的家庭生活，書寫陌生的「她們」，關於女人是一個人的眾生相，比如為了收集一百支手表而賣淫；為了高潮而離婚去尋找可以給自己高潮的對象；弒母的兒子說出原因竟是母親過著沒有愛的生活；因為同性之愛而殺死丈夫的女子……

若說女人離開家、出嫁，是人類群體記憶的一種嫁接和交換，一切源於她們是女性，尤其是生活在鄉村的女性，從一個家庭退出再沒入另一個家。如果鄉村社會是古老、傳統、雜亂的荒野地，男人、女人都是這塊土地上的墾荒者，但當所有的墾荒者都離開土地時，田頭墓碑上的名，卻是只有男人、沒有女人的，就像女人沒有在這墾荒中流淚、流汗、流過血，記憶卻把女人嫁了、抹殺了，卻沒有人認為記憶是兇手。
無論是城裡人還是鄉下人，在被父權意識左右的家族倫理畫面裡，女性往往很快被忘卻。以婚嫁和墳陵的鄉村記憶之路，從來找不到女兒們自成年至墳墓的記憶簿。而做為媳婦走進墳地的女性們，是只有相隨男性才可以被墳墓寫入人的最後一卷回憶錄裡。

這本書旨在叩問「人」的存在性：你若放棄黑白分明的男性、女性視野後，把她們當做女性的「人」或「做為人的女性」時，那就能看到她們身上的光芒。
閻連科透過《她們》傾訴女性的運命，爬梳數代女人的生活經驗和際遇。記述母親、姑姑等母輩的生活故事，也書寫同輩的姊姊、嫂子們的身影，一直寫到與孫女輩；他寫出人生的不易與生命的趨光性。從不同世代的女性生存狀態，得以窺見生命在時間之河沖積的生活天地，以及新時代如何改變女人的生存條件與亙古不變的生活困境。

Genres: China, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2020

About the author

Yan Lianke (simplified Chinese: 阎连科; traditional Chinese: 閻連科; pinyin: Yán Liánkē; Wade–Giles: Yen Lien-k'e, born 1958) is a Chinese writer of novels and short stories based in Beijing. His work is highly satirical, which has resulted in some of his most renowned works being banned.

He started writing in 1978 and his works include: Xia Riluo (夏日落), Serve the People (为人民服务), Enjoyment (受活), and Dream of Ding Village (丁庄梦). He has also published more than ten volumes of short stories. Enjoyment, which was published in 2004, received wide acclaim in China. His literature has been published in various nations, and some of his works have been banned in China.

(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Verso books for allowing me to read this book early. I have already pre-odered it so I can have a physical copy on my shelf, but I was so excited to read this. This was definitely my most anticipated release of 2026.

In the preface of this book, Yan describes how long he waited to write this book after the successful publication of his book Three Brothers, which is about him and his father's generation. Three Brothers was one of my favorite books when I read it last year, so I was extremely looking forward to reading The Women, and it did not disappoint.

Along with even more anecdotes about Yan's life growing up, we also get a lot of insight into what life is like/was like for women in a small village in Henan. I think Yan also does a good job not speaking over women and feminist voices. He quotes a lot of prominent feminist authors and interviewed quite a few women for this book as well. There are a few lines here and there that had me raising my eyebrows (like the quote from Blindness by Saramago), but overall I still think this is a moving and thought-provoking collection of essays.

There are several parts to this book, but in my opinion the family member chapters were the most captivating. I loved reading about Yan's relationship with his sisters, his aunts, and his mother. You can really feel how highly he regards these family members in the way he discusses them. Despite never having met his aunts, I feel close with them. On the other hand, The Third Sex was the chapter that I'm most unsure about. I like a lot of the things Yan has to say in this chapter, but the premise confused me a bit. Maybe I just didn't understand the concept of the third sex being "female otherness". At the same time, I appreciated a lot of the discussions and points brought up in this section, so my overall impression is still positive. I saved the most quotes from this part.

The last story in The Women is a short afterword about Yan taking his granddaughter to the park and I think it is the perfect story to end the collection.

Overall I loved this. I think the translation is great, the content is great, and I can't wait to read it again and annotate it.

[Amie Song · Rating 3 out of 5]

要给这本书打分其实很难，总觉得以一个男人的视角去试图审视理解那些女人的命运有些别扭。真诚或不真诚的愧疚与反思让这本书更像是一个外来者的观察笔记，而非真实写照。

可是她们的故事又有谁来诉说呢？
那些一路上走失的故事，消逝的故事。

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review pending in FOREWORD BOOK REVIEWS.

[Issie’s books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

When I read the description for this book I was immediately hooked. Women’s history in China or even China’s history in general is something I know shockingly little about. So when I saw this on the Netgalley find titles page I was incredibly happy when my request was fulfilled.

As I already said this is a book about Women’s history in China, but really this is much more than that. It is the family history of Yan Lianke, on top of that the book shows a broad view of culture and social standards and practices in China. I think the combination of this being part memoir and part history book is what makes this book so interesting. The memoir part makes it a lot more personal than just reading a history book. It makes you think about how things actually were and the people who went through it and their thoughts and feelings.

At first you might not completely get the book, it takes a good few pages to really understand where the author is going. This book is very lyrical it has loads of beautiful observations of everyday life. Reflecting the good and the bad of these people’s days. I think the part of this book I found the most interesting is the part of the matchmaking. That is obviously something that is often known outside of China, but this book goes deeper into the themes surrounding it. It shows how matchmakers were (and are) an integral part of especially village life. How people relied on matchmakers and how they were grateful for everything they did. The author also tries to find the change matchmaking went through, because of the big cultural changes in China, but also the pop culture. Which makes for an incredibly interesting read.

All in all I think this is a brilliant book. It is an incredibly powerful story giving a voice to things that have been forgotten or never were known. (For people not living in the situation) This has made me really interested in China’s history and especially its women’s history.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intressant om kvinnor på den kinesiska landsbygden. Saknar dock en hel del kulturella referenser för att verkligen förstå allt, även om det stora mänskliga framträder. Sen är det såklart grejen med att en man berättar om det som skaver något - även om det mellan raderna framgår att författaren är medveten om det och skälen till att det ändå skrivs på något sätt framträder i epilogen om hans sondotter. Att han som man beskriver kvinnornas situation gör också att det liksom finns en distans till det som är både positiv och negativ. Vill dock definitivt ha mer och är glad att jag läst den! Också: vill läsa mer om kina.

Vissa saker lämnas även okommenterat - som varför är hans fru ingen som beskrivs - det är förmodligen för att hon är för nära eller något men man vill ju läsa förklaringen.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tankeväckande, ärlig, jordnära.

Det känns som att jag suttit och lyssnat till en klok morfar som berättat historier om svunna tider. Han (Lianke) målar okonstlat upp minnen och tankar kring kvinnor som haft sitt öde bundet i den kinesiska jorden. Till dessa kvinnors liv är vi bara åskådare, men ändå infinner sig en förunderlig känsla av nostalgi och relaterbarhet.

I sin helhet saknade jag en röd tråd. Men som han själv sa var en sammanhängande historia inte hans intention. Jag förnimmer snarare ett annat syfte, någon form av existentiell poesi.

Jag hade gärna läst den på kinesiska. Det hade varit vackert.

7/10

[Lei Zhang · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give 0 or negative if I can. This book is toxic. It’s not about the women but all about the author himself. “ 而为了解决家里种地无人手、父母需要照顾这实在中的实，常给父亲看病的医生出了一个好主意，说尽快给连科找个对象让他结个婚，什么问题就都解决了，家里有人照顾了，他也可以回到部队提干了。 … 倒是两全其美的事——可我的人生之愿是离开土地要到城里安家呀！” To find a wife to take care of his parents so that he can get a better career. What a smart and sick solution.

“我是一个人生的路盲、色盲、语言盲，也还是人生两性中的爱情盲。在《失明症漫记》那部著作里，作家写到失明者中的女性被人强奸时，那女性愤怒地反省思考道：“最惧怕的倒不是遭受强暴⋯⋯最糟糕的是我们有快感！“萨拉马戈是真的了解人，知道人。识人如同人知天象字宙的不可测。” Excuse me?! The woman enjoyed the rape? WTF!

It makes me sick to look at this book.

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Svårbedömd, kanske 2,5. Känns ändå lite skevt att Yan Lianke som man skriver om kvinnor, även om han är medveten om detta själv. Emellanåt, främst i början, tyckte jag titeln var missvisande och mest handlade om honom själv. Ganska ordtung, lite för redogörande och jag tröttnade på alla naturliknelser, trots att de samtidigt kändes talande för samhället som beskrevs. Men ändå intressant, skildringen av den bokätande suggan var ett roligt plus

[Nayeon Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little wordy.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tröttnade och gav upp efter 93 sidor

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intressanta och minnesvärda anekdoter om kvinnors situation i Kina. Tyvärr förväntade jag mig romanformen, som drömmar om byn Ding, varför jag blev lite besviken.

[Erik Törnkvist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intressant bok att läsa utan tydlig A till B-kronologi utan med betraktelser/delar som målar en helhet. Om Kina, könsroller och kvinnors livsöden. En hel del roliga och fina formuleringar!

[Ellie Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Verso Books for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

“The Women” is a thoughtful and moving memoir of the women that shaped Yan Lianke. At its best, it’s a sharp reflection on the role of women in modern China and the invisibility and tedium of their lives. At the same time, the writing reveals the limitations of a book written by a man: the way so much of his sisters, aunts and mother’s life—their decisions, motivations, and inner lives—are hidden from him, intentionally or otherwise.

Lianke makes the intentional decision not to interview the surviving women in his family, but rather to reflect on his memory as it is. I struggled with this decision, because I feel as if the same lack of agency afforded to these women in their lives is denied to them in their remembrance on the page. There are parts of the story where Lianke venerates the resilience and strength of his mother and other women. Certainly, they were strong—but what other choice did they have? Lianke does reflect on this lack of agency but I feel like it is impossible to read this story as anything more than yet another story about women written by a man.

At the same time that I struggled with this aspect of the book, I also deeply appreciated the story that was being told. In such a transformative period of China’s history when so many people living in rural areas were illiterate, it’s extremely valuable to have the stories of these women preserved. The final section of the book which included several local stories felt a bit abrupt—I did enjoy reading them but wished the structure was a bit cleaner and kept the spotlight on the family members.

[kw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book already a fan of Yan Lianke's writing, having loved Three Brothers — his earlier memoir about his father's generation — so my expectations going in were high. For the most part, The Women delivered, though it's a book that takes some adjusting to structurally. It moves from intimate family recollections into broader philosophical territory about womanhood as a social construct, then into loosely connected regional stories, before closing with a tender coda about his granddaughter. That range is ambitious, but it also means the book doesn't always feel like a single, cohesive work.
The family chapters are, without question, the heart of the collection. Yan writes about his sisters, aunts, and mother with such warmth and respect that I felt like I knew these women myself, despite never having met them — the section about gathering coal with his second sister especially stands out as the strongest piece in the whole book. That said, there's something worth sitting with in how he refers to them: never by name, only as "first sister," "second sister," "first aunt," and so on. It's hard to know whether that's a deliberate device or an unconscious echo of the very patriarchal erasure he's trying to examine — either way, it nags at you.
To his credit, Yan seems aware of the limits of his own perspective. He's upfront that he's telling these stories as a man who can't fully access these women's inner lives, and he leans on quotes from feminist writers and interviews with women from his region to broaden the lens beyond his own. It mostly works — though I found myself wishing he'd gone further and let his own sisters and aunts speak in their own words rather than filtering everything through his memory of them.
The section I'm most torn on is "The Third Sex." There's a lot of genuinely interesting material in it, and I ended up highlighting more from this chapter than any other, but the central premise — female otherness as a kind of "third sex" — never fully clicked for me. A few reference points, like the nod to Saramago's Blindness, also gave me pause. Still, the ideas raised there stayed with me even where I wasn't sure I agreed with the framing.
The book's final piece, a short afterword about Yan taking his granddaughter to the park, is a lovely way to close things out — quiet and grounding after everything that comes before.
Structural unevenness aside, this is a thoughtful, often moving collection, and the translation reads beautifully. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in women's experience in modern China, and in the imperfect, self-aware ways a man might try to bear witness to lives he can only partly understand. I'm already looking forward to rereading it with a pen in hand.

[KRISTEN CONNELL]

The Women is an intimate and deeply significant work that uses the lives of women in Yan Lianke’s own world to illuminate a much larger story: the social history of China across a period of extraordinary hardship and transformation.

Part memoir and part literary nonfiction, the book focuses particularly on the harsh realities experienced by women in rural China during the 1970s and 1980s. Rather than approaching that history through statistics or political abstraction, Lianke brings it to life through the women whose labor, sacrifices, and resilience shaped his own upbringing and experience.

One of the book’s most compelling dimensions is its examination of invisible labor. In a society where rural life could reduce a person to their capacity as a worker, women often carried enormous burdens while receiving little recognition for what they contributed. Their hardship could become normalized and their labor diminished, even as families and communities depended upon it.

Lianke's approach appears to balance humor and tragedy, allowing these women to emerge not merely as victims of their circumstances but as complex human beings with personalities, relationships, endurance, and stories of their own.

The personal perspective also gives the book unusual emotional power. By writing about the women who shaped his life, Lianke turns social critique into something deeply human. Their individual experiences become a lens through which readers can consider gender, poverty, labor, family, culture, and the changing face of modern China.

For Western readers in particular, the book offers an opportunity to encounter aspects of rural Chinese life that are rarely represented with this degree of personal intimacy.

The author's literary reputation further strengthens the book's potential. As an award-winning novelist and a writer twice shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, Lianke already brings substantial literary credibility to a work that is both personal and socially observant.

With publication expected on October 27, 2026, The Women has a timely opportunity to build anticipation among readers of literary nonfiction, memoir, women's history, Chinese literature, and international writing.

Ultimately, the book's strongest hook is its scale: a portrait of an entire century of China told through the women whose lives, labor, suffering, and resilience often went unseen.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be affecting and gentle. I loved the sections about family. They felt organically written and the sentiments were an interesting insight into the culture Yan Lianke lived through and grew up in. A cosy read.

[sundazing · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you for the ARC. i feel honoured to have read this story. it really touched me. i would place this book into the hands of every woman i know. so beautifully written too.