Candy: A Novel

by Mian Mian, Andrea Lingenfelter (Translator)

An international literary phenomenon -- now available for the first time in English translation -- Candy is a hip, harrowing tale of risk and desire, the story of a young Chinese woman forging a life for herself in a world seemingly devoid of guidelines.

Hong, who narrates the novel, and whose life in many ways parallels the author's own, drops out of high school and runs away at age 17 to the frontier city of Shenzen. As Hong navigates the temptations of the city, she quickly falls in love with a young musician and together they dive into a cruel netherworld of alcohol, drugs, and excess, a life that fails to satisfy Hong's craving for an authentic self, and for a love that will define her. This startling and subversive novel is a blast of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll that opens up to us a modern China we've never seen before.

Banned in China -- with Mian Mian labeled the 'poster child for spiritual pollution' -- Candy still managed to sell 60,000 copies, as well as countless additional copies in pirated editions. Candy has been published in eight countries to date and has become a bestseller in France.

Genres: China, Fiction, Contemporary, Asia, Novels, Literary Fiction, Literature

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Mian is a young Chinese writer. She writes on China's once-taboo topics and she is a promoter of Shanghai's local music. Her publications have earned her the reputation as China's literary wild child.

Her first novel, Candy, has been translated into English. Her other novels include Every good child deserves to eat candy. Her novel We Are Panic was made into a movie, Shanghai Panic, in which she also acted one of the lead roles.

In late 2009, she sued Google over the company scanning her books for its online library. She demanded ¥61,000 and a public apology. Google removed the book from its library.

Reviews

[Chinoiseries · Rating 1 out of 5]

You may wonder, why such a low rating? Well, personally, I did not like it. However, before you dismiss this book as completely unreadable, simply on the grounds of my rating... let me first explain a little about the significance of this book and some of the others in its genre. Am I making any sense? Please bear with me, while I sum up a very brief history of contemporary China.

‹!-- History blurb --›
You must understand that China used to be a country that moved in cycles, dynasty followed dynasty, usually ruled by Han Chinese, and nearly always by men, but always according to Chinese traditions. And those traditions go back 3000 years, back to times in which Enlightenment in the West was far to be found. The Chinese are proud of their "middle kingdom", a great country far superior to non-Chinese civilizations. And then everything changed around the beginning of the 20th century. No longer able to fend off growing Western (or Japanese) powers, China was shamed into making bad deals for itself. A few examples are Hong Kong ("lent" to the British), Shanghai (partly colonized by the French and Americans among others) and the Last Emperor (puppet emperor for Japan). After the fall of the dynastic system came the Republic of China, founded by Sun Yat-Sen. When that didn't work out too well, it led to a full-on civil war against Mao Zedong's Communist Party. Mao eventually drove off the Nationalists, who fled to and remained in Taiwan, and announced the People's Republic of China in 1949. Whether he was a great leader or just a charismatic and eccentric man with grand, unrealistic ideas is disputable, but we can all agree that he shook up the old China down to its foundations. While before, literati were most important of the Chinese social classes, the new hierarchy favored farmers, workers and soldiers. From 1966 to 1976 the Cultural Revolution ravaged China and left many scars on the generation who was sent to work in the countryside, usually under very harsh conditions. After Mao passed away in 1976, a completely different leader came to the fore: Deng Xiaoping. He opened up China in order to absorb the changes that had taken place when China was at odds with itself. The eighties were a very important period for the Chinese, it is during this time that the creative arts won back a little freedom and more and more new authors and artists were ready to take on the new dawn. Can you see how after decades of having to write, draw, paint, direct movies, compose music in the socialist realism style, many people were left clueless but also exhilarated at the chance to create something different now? During the same periods, more and more Special Economic Zones were created, one of which was Shenzhen, the so-called "South" bordering on Hong Kong in which the larger part of Mian Mian takes place.
‹!-- End history blurb --›

Now, the importance of Candy and my personal opinion. Mian Mian did not write her story for the intellectuals out there (her words), but she tried to capture the feeling, the zeitgeist of her generation instead. In that, I think she succeeded, for she sold miraculously well (even after her writings were banned in China). Hers is a semi-autobiographic novel that does not shy away from explicit sex (and it is everywhere, so easy to come by), drug abuse, alcohol addiction and life in the fast lane (albeit funded by other people's money). Picture Hong's generation, born just before or after 1980. They just missed Mao's autocratic rule by a hair, and the hardships that their parents suffered is unknown to them. Everything traditional and dear to their grandparents' generation has been wiped away by Communist edict, so now China is welcoming Western influence, they do not know better than to absorb it; Western music, literature, art, that is what matters, not traditional China. Neither should we dismiss the impact of the One Child Policy, which was introduced in 1978. Suddenly China is modernizing and families are only allowed one child. It was just a matter of time before many of these kids turned into pampered, self-centered brats.
Indeed, Mian Mian's story is a reflection of all of the above, her tragic heroine going down in a bad relationship that she just cannot quit. When Saining leaves, she finds solace in alcohol. And here is the first problem I have with this novel; the self-pity is just too much for me. All of the people in Candy are searching for love, but I feel that they are so preoccupied with the notion of love and feeling sorry for themselves that they will never find it. The old adage remains true: you need to love yourself before you can love another. The poor prostitutes in the story were so hooked on their laogong ("husband", or pimp) that they threw away their self-esteem in a matter of days. Also, I had the impression that Hong did not know herself at the least, despite her constant quasi-existentialist musings.
The lack of a storyline irritated me. I admit that this is not per se a problem in a novel, but Hong was caught in a loop of Saining-alcohol/heroin-rehab-Saining... and the diary-style in which the novel was written did not help structuring the story. Finally, there was just too much sex, so many elements of the book seemed to be written purely for their shock-value. Instead, Candy was an utter bore to read. Despite the fact that on a rational level, I understand Mian Mian's very personal story, maybe it's due to me being raised an overseas Taiwanese that I deem her novel whiny and self-absorbed?

[Stephanie Spines · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I liked (not loved) and hated this book at the same time. It was good at the beginning and I found it quite moving. The writing is, like others say, poetic and haunting, tragic with an ounce of humour. The love story with Saining to me, didn't really get that old. It did go on for the entire book but it didn't get old for me. To me, the book went downhill fast at the end with the disjointed narrating style. Seems like Mian Mian didn't know where she was going with the story. It got confusing at that point and I found myself jus wanting to get the book over with.
Anyways, not a terrible read chock full of sex and drugs. A good insight into underground, modern chinese culture but not for you if you're looking for a heartwarming, full-of-hope story.

[Martin Iguaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leer este libro me hizo pensar, por momentos, que estaba leyendo la autobiografía de una estrella de rock de los años setenta y ochenta: está atiborrado de escenas muy detalladas de consumo de drogas (marihuana y heroína principalmente, pero también otras), alcoholismo, prostitución y proxenetismo, peleas de pareja feroces y entre bandas, todo con el trasfondo de una ciudad china sórdida donde comienza a implantarse el capitalismo y los personajes están perdidos, desorientados, sin ningún propósito claro en la vida. Además, la protagonista y su pareja se mueven en el mundo de la música y los bares.
La verdad, de haber sido escrita por un occidental, la habría descartado de plano. Nada me irrita más que un relato autoindulgente de alguien que nace en un país libre y abundante y se dedica a una vida de excesos. Pero como fue escrita por una autora china, en un país donde rige una feroz censura sobre prácticamente todos los temas abordados en el libro, la situación es un poco distinta. De todas maneras, no le doy más de tres estrellas por problemas más relacionados con la escritura que con el tema: en algunos momentos se cambia sin aviso de la primera a la tercera persona del singular o viceversa, o del pasado al presente, y tampoco es que la historia es relatada con un particular esmero. Es posible que el relato descarnado sea parte de la idea, por la crudeza de lo que se narra, pero de todas maneras creo que habría sido mejor trabajarlo un poco.

[Cintia · Rating 4 out of 5]

En Caramelos, Mian Mian dice las cosas como son, y entre frases e ideas directas, agrega muchas otras que se acercan más a lo poético, y eso me gusta mucho.

Si bien el tema central de la novela es el amor y la búsqueda constante de éste (o la búsqueda de lo necesario para poder comprender al amor), no es una novela romántica en sí. Es una historia muy agridulce, en la que los dos personajes principales, Hong y Saining, se hieren mutuamente a pesar de que se aman. O a pesar de que se aman de diferentes maneras en diferentes momentos de sus vidas. La de ellos es una relación disfuncional prácticamente desde el principio, y aunque se dejan en varias ocasiones, siempre vuelven a estar juntos. "Juntos" porque su relación pasa de amantes a amigos a conocidos a intento de amantes una y otra vez.

Lo que me gusta mucho en la historia es su crudeza. No es una historia de cuento de hadas, sino una historia que ocurre en un mundo lleno de sexo, drogas, alcohol y rock and roll, y no es broma. Es una historia en la que dos personas que se aman (porque eso es innegable) no saben cómo amarse y se hieren, se alejan, se acercan, se destrozan y, por increíble que parezca, crecen juntas.

[shubiektywnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Po skończeniu „Cukiereczków” doszłam do dwóch wniosków:
1) „Panda Sex” jest kontynuacją tej historii,
2) Nie czyni to „Panda sex” ani trochę bardziej logicznym tworem 🤣

„Cukiereczki” w pewnym momencie wywołały we mnie sporo przykrych emocji: szczere żałowałam bohaterów, odczuwałam ich smutek i toksyczność i bardzo chciałam wiedzieć, co będzie dalej, bo wydawało mi się, że główna bohaterka miała zamiar podjąć racjonalne decyzje. Ale Mian Mian, jako rasowa grafomanka, zaserwowała mi ten przemielony kawałek jeszcze z osiem razy, dopóki zupełnie nie stracił smaku. Zastanawiacie się może, czy w związku z tym główna bohaterka podjęła w końcu tę swoją przełomową decyzję? Otóż nie.

Mały edit: zapomniałam dodać, jak wiele wyborów tłumaczeniowych mi w tej książce nie pasowało, bo sprawiały, że tekst, który po chińsku prawdopodobnie miał sens, w języku polskim brzmiał śmiesznie, np: „wschody słońca ma północnym zachodzie”, albo mój ulubieniec „oprócz narkotyków chętnie zażywał też spacerów” 🙃🙃🙃

[Vanessa Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I find it very restful. I do not like books that portray heroin addiction as heroic. The persistent image of the artist as addict is a disservice to art and creativity. Junkies have no imagination. This book is not one of those.

"Honestly, heroin is nothing but glorified shit."

What makes this book appealing is the author's use of creative writing as a form of rehab. Her imagination is redemptive. Special praise is due, too, to Andrea Lingenfelter, who has rendered the original Chinese into an English that is beautiful, warm and poetic. I like to immerse myself in it at the end of a stressful day, like sinking into a relaxing bath.

Bless you, also, The Book Depository.

[Marissa DeMeritt · Rating 2 out of 5]

would not recommend. it had its moments but i did not care for this book. it was too meandering and constantly was jumping around, mostly in first person but randomly switches to third and occasionally it would be from another character’s perspective with absolutely no indication. it was so flat and the characters unlikeable and hard to keep track of. boring!

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The English translation of this doesn't seem like English. Look at this:

"But once, during a fight, somebody had fired a gun, and Sanmao had fainted in fear. When he woke up, he vowed to go straight, and he took up singing songs by the Taiwan pop star Qi Tai. From there he got into rock and roll.

The smell of air-conditioning, the smell of heroin, real and bogus, the smell of condoms, the smell of blow jobs, the smell of fast-food take-out containers, the smell of frozen fruit, the black-and-white Cantonese movies, the smell of table lamps, the smell of sweet rice porridge, the smell of paper money, the smell of the hotel manager, the smell of vomit.

One day, Little Shanghai was wandering around the hotel, randomly pounding on doors, and she finally pounded on mine. She was holding a shiny red apple in one hand, and I supposed that a customer had given it to her. I'm sorry, she said. Wrong door again."

***

WTF does that mean? I didn't leave anything out. It really does have a paragraph of random scents (and black-and-white films, which I don't think you can smell) sandwiched between two antidotes that have nothing to do with one another. I don't get it.

[Xavier · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I often times felt like I was being dragged along through random, unimportant happenings occurring in the narrator's life. Right when I would feel like putting the book down for good, an off the wall incident would occur, grabbing my attention for the next 15 pages or so. However, I would eventually fall into the same feeling of boredom until the next incident occurred.

Mian Mian's writing style was interesting and unique (her lack of quotations during dialogue reminded me of Cormac McCarthy and required the reader to pay close attention to what was going on). There was also a poetic and political tone to her writing, which was engaging at times. However, the whole narrative reminded me of Kerouac's "On The Road," another book that I wasn't crazy about. Ultimately, it was the incessant relationship issues that bugged me the most. The "back and forth" continuum left me feeling like I got nowhere when I finished the book.

[Moniquilla Guajara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reto asiático 2024
Brutal está historia del submundo de china.
Sin pelos en la lengua, totalmente explícita y terriblemente desgarradora.
Es la historia de Hong, una joven que abandona sus estudios por algo y se va rumbo a otra ciudad donde conoce a un joven músico que será su vida y su perdición
Brutal está historia.
Me ha gustado muchísimo.

[Mags · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are just some books that you're way too old for to enjoy. I felt like I would've liked this book better if I had read it when I was sixteen, or during that phase when I was so lost in the teenage angst that I fell too deeply in love with boys who didn't deserve it, that I questioned which was the cool thing to do despite of it being right or wrong, that everything my parents said came to me with a sole purpose of sucking the fun out of my life. I would have loved this book at sixteen; not now. Not when I've matured too much to listen to a pathetic voice rambling on and on about her stupid decisions, knowing how stupid they are but still continuing to stick with them. I'm too old for her even more pathetic perseverance in a destructive and unhealthy relationship (it's like Twilight in all of its traumatic psychological glory but with all the vampires replaced with heroin).

The girl—Christ, I forgot her name—was so irritatingly dumb. I can't feel any pity for her at all. She constantly tells you and herself that "this is wrong," "I shouldn't do this," "I should just leave" but no, despite all that, for the sake of self-loathing and all her other bullshit, she'd go through with it. And when things fuck up she'd blame either of these two: heroin, or that equally stupid boy who treated her like shit.

I understand where it all gets controversial. I have a fascination for China, and this was how the youth of China evolved—hence the three stars. Sometimes I could hang onto words she said, sometimes I appreciated the poetic feel of her narration, but oftentimes I'm just lost and my head feels like it's swimming in a heavy marsh. It's all very superfluous.

It gets tiring, but I could see the book's potential, really. I cringed at corny words like "soulful" and "lover," but I would have my future teenage daughter to read this, if only because in the book I see that you could learn what happens when you give everything to a boy who doesn't give a fuck about you. It teaches you about the hard life, poverty, drugs, and music. I think it's got enough to offer a sixteen-year-old girl.

But to me, it's just all rambling bullshit with no spine.

[Booklover Butterfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Candy is a novel about a young woman, Hong, who is part of the youth culture in modern China. Hong in self destructive with her choices: she drops out of school; has shady friends and boyfriends; and struggles with addictions to sex, drugs, and alcohol. Candy gives a very good look at Hong's struggles and insecurities, as well as a good look at the nightlife in China.

I loved this novel because it was potent and palpable. I was impressed with the amount of detail this novel held while still being a fast paced, exciting read. I enjoyed how Mian Mian expressed a full spectrum of emotion in Hong because this added to the realistic nature of Hong's personality. This novel wasn't all smiles and sunshine, it really described the misery of addiction and the oppression of being in a poisonous relationship. I encourage everyone who is interested in modern China's nightlife or addiction to give this novel a read.

[Nicholas Beck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scattershot, schizophrenic and messy with jarring time-frame jumps between first person and third person viewpoints. Mian Mian's novel is experimental and frankly surrealistic with whatever comes into her mind jotted down with little narrative structure or plot development.Somewhat of a chore to get through there are glimpses of sunlight through the obscuring scudding clouds .

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banned in China! The first half of the book pulls you in...compelling story...but by the 1/2 half, the drama gets old (and repetitive) and you wish the main character would grow a brain already.

[penta]

Ciężko mi wystawić tej książce ocenę, ponieważ "Cukiereczki" trwają w przedziwnym stanie zawieszenia pomiędzy wspomnieniami a opowieścią. Oczywiście, nie znając autorki, trudno powiedzieć, ile z tego wszystkiego wydarzyło się naprawdę - lub wydarzyło z jej udziałem - ale myślę, że pewne odseparowanie się od dzieła, zmieniając imiona i osnuwając całość nimbem fikcji działa na niekorzyść powieści, ponieważ jako wspomnienia broniłyby się dużo lepiej. Jako powieść linię fabularną mają praktycznie żadną i są zbiorem luźnych anegdot, które *może* do czegoś prowadzą. Nie wątpię, że pisanie tego było dla Mian Mian oczyszczające, ale jednak czytelnik ma z tekstem nieco inną relację niż jego twórca, a istnieje pewna granica bronienia dzieła wczuciem się w autora, ja natomiast nigdy nie byłam Swiftie, by wiedzieć, jak ją przekroczyć.

Usuwając autorkę z obrazka, "Cukiereczki" są książką nierówną w tym względzie, że naprawdę dobry, ciekawy język zostaje użyty do opowiadania o niczym, a rewolucja kulturowa w Szanghaju przemyka na marginesie.

Zostawiam bez oceny koniec końców, bo całość wydaje mi się jednak zbyt osobista i surowa, bym mogła włożyć ją w standardowe ramy oceny.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Banned Chinese book
Reads like a journal kind of without dates
All over the place and often abit confusing (maybe due to translation)
Liked not loved

[Sara Zovko · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gluplju knjigu dulje nisam čitala, žao mi 9 kuna koliko sam izdvojila prilikom kupnje. Rečenice kao da ih je pisalo malo dijete, radnja nevjerojatno glupa, likovi također. Shvaćam da je u Kini ova knjiga izazvala golemu paniku, do te mjere da je bila zabranjena - ali realno, to je Kina.


.... Sljedećeg sam dana nazvala Sanmaovu djevojku i upitala je za Sainingovu i Sanmaovu adresu u Pekingu. Rekla sam : "Želim ubiti Saininga." Sanmaova djevojka me upitala zašto ih jednostavno ne nazovem i sama ih pitam za adresu. Odgovorila sam : " Zato što Saining zna da ga želim ubiti, pa im ne mogu reći da dolazim. " Sanmaova djevojka je rekla da ni ona ne zna njihovu adresu , jer ni ona kao ni ja nikad nije pisala pisma , već je uvijek telefonirala.

[Eleanor Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't particularly fond of this book whatsoever. Going into the book knowing it was banned in China, I was expecting something special. What I found instead was a sophomoric "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll" story that was dull and repetitive. The racier, drug-laden parts of the book came across as very forced to me, almost as though they were trying to be shocking. The story didn't move in such a way that compelled me to read further, but I did finish the book. The latter half of the book was particularly hard to get through due to the switching narrators confusing me to no end. This book is, in my opinion, one of those books one either loves or hates.

[Marta Silva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read about half of the book and just couldn't be arsed to put up with the awful writing and the whining about her boyfriends anymore. If you are interested in this book because you think you're gonna get a glimpse of China's post-Mao era, like I was, then just go look in another place because this ain't it. Honestly there were some parts where I couldn't figure out who the narrator was talking about, or who the narrator even was. Also, it was trying way too hard to be deep and heartfelt but just felt ridiculous. A waste of time.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was profoundly depressing in a captivating way. I read it in a very jaded state of mind and it surely catipulted me further into an existential rut. You get my drift. Take notes in case you want good material for an effective break up letter. loved it.

[Angelina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got about 90 pages in and just gave up. Not going to finish and it went into the donation pile.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book, you’ll have gained 50 years of hardcore street experience with drugs, prostitution, and casual violence. You’ll come out with the wisdom of a reformed ex gang member, doing community service and giving motivational speeches to local prisons and high schools across the globe.

You’ll also have lived an epic relationship.

Tarantino’s “True Romance” — remix by Sylvia Plath

(Ok not really fair to compare it to Sylvia Plath…Mian Mian’s narrative style is even more inventive and poetic. But who should I compare it to then? I’ve never read anything like this. Has anyone ever read anything like this? Comparisons between this book and Shanghai baby are so superficial. It is nothing like Shanghai Baby.)

***
Also wow to the translator. Bravo. I don’t know how the original is but the translation is gorgeous.

[Tamine Rasse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro está escrito como una conversación, muy caótico y desordenado. Lo amé demasiado, aunque me parece que no es muy fácil de leer. Toca temas como la prostitución, las drogas, la homosexualidad, el sida y las prohibiciones culturales en China en los años 80. Es bastante crudo y sexual, pero de una forma que da tristeza en vez de cualquier otra cosa. Es el tipo de libro que te deja pensando bastante.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to make of this profoundly strange book. A lot of it is a disorganized mess. I'm guessing a great deal was lost in translation. Nonetheless, Mian Mian paints her protagonist's development as a writer with fresh images and some interesting theorizing on how tragedies are transmuted into art.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay it was hard to rate this one. It had its good moments but then most of it was slow. Not what I expected really at all, and for a lot of the book there wasn’t much of a plot, just was about her life. Didn’t realize it was unreliable narrator for a long time, and thinking about that is so interesting because it did feel incredibly honest.

[~Knoctise00~Lookout 4 gems · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpected side of a young chinese girl and her life and the way that things goes for her.

[Joana Monteiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

o livro é muito repetitivo (o que é compreensível, tendo em conta o contexto) e a narração fica um bocado confusa no final, assim do nada. este livro tinha tudo para ter uma review má... mas a ESCRITA da Mian Mian.. isto sim, é escrita

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I loved this book, I should love this book, but getting through the middle was like pulling teeth. Last quarter-ish is worth it though

[Kate Mokranova · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. I liked the beginning but then it just went down the hill and I didn't care much for the second half of the book. I am glad I read it, and even more glad I found out about Cui Jian as a result!

[Ape · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. I can not quite make up my mind about this book. Or about the fact that the hype on the front of the book reckons this is one of China's most promising young writers. It's not the first book of this type I've read, although it's been a few years since I read the others. I'm not sure if the other ones were better, or I've just grown out of wanting to read this sort of thing or what.

This is fiction, but I am wondering how much of it is actually based on the author's own life. It's about a Chinese girl in the 90s, when the country was starting to open up to the west, rock and roll music coming through, foreigners starting to move across to set up businesses, and the western decadant lifestyle of drugs and casual sex coming into youth culture. Because no one ever took drugs or had sex before then. (Yes, I am being flippant :) ). So Hong, our 'heroine' drops out of school when she's sixteen or seventeen because... as far as I recall because she can't be arsed. And this book follows her up to the age of about thirty. She does some odd jobbing as a nightclub singer, has a lot of sex, has a heroine addiction, goes into rehab a few times, drinks too much, tries to do herself in, neurotiscises about romantic love, needing to find the right man to make her whole and understand her - because her on/off boyfriend never perfectly fits the bill, hanging out with pimps and prostitutes. And after ten years or so it doesn't feel like she's gotten anywhere, because it's the same record of neurotic thoughts and hysteria, and she's still just dossing about living off her father's money. Not that I want to sound like anyone's disapproving parent - I'm neither a parent nor disapproving generally - but for god's sake. And what is the point of this - that the world is an empty place? She is a disaffected, numb youth that sees no point in life? This is what western culture does to you? If you're interested in China in the 90s, this might be worth a look, but for hedonistic youth culture of this variety I've read more engaging books than this one.