emily’s Reviews > Adrift in the South > Status Update
emily
is on page 207 of 320
‘It was pouring with rain—I rode my bike to Jing’an Sculpture Park—typing up a prose poem on my phone—I fixed my mind on—1921, a group of youths had decided that it was their responsibility to bring change—paralleling the lives of the youths then with our time—I left Shanghai. I felt like a defeathered bird—escaping the city. Our blood & muscles—integrated into machines—I’ve been thinking, about moving to Beijing—’
— 18 hours, 56 min ago
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emily’s Previous Updates
emily
is on page 107 of 320
‘I brought her letter—from Shenzhen to Dongguan—Ningbo & then Suzhou—a place that produces the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen. Every flower is destined to wither—lychee trees saved us—no wonder Su Dongpo wrote that poem. For the first time since moving to the south, I found myself savouring a concrete sense of freedom—lotuses in full bloom. The walls—posters—Crystal Palace defender, Fan Zhiyi—& Maggie Cheung.’
— May 10, 2026 05:14PM
emily
is on page 39 of 320
‘—Upper Lilang Village—the town of Buji to—Henggang—The factory’s name reflected the spirit of the time, as Nokia phones were fashionable and dominated the market. Sino-Nokia specialised in radios. Shenzhen—picking wild lychees—redder as the weather got warmer. Back then—when I heard— 蓝莲花 ‘Lan Lianhua’, ‘Blue Lotus’ by Xu Wei, I felt a trembling in my spirit—as if the music had snatched some portion of my inner self’
— May 09, 2026 04:38PM
emily
is on page 9 of 320
‘A growing city where tropical steam would evaporate from the asphalt roads—Cantonese-accented Mandarin—plantains silently grew in the fields—I took out the dozen hardboiled eggs—only to discover that they had been crushed in my bag and had rotted in the southern heat. The memory—always brings me a sense of bitterness—which is the same thing I feel when I realise I let—my life slip away from me on the factory floor.’
— May 08, 2026 04:49PM
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I just got a copy of this at the weekend - you’re making me even more excited to pick it up :)
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Sarah wrote: "I just got a copy of this at the weekend - you’re making me even more excited to pick it up :)": ) ! I'm so excited for you to read this, Sarah . I didn't realise that it was a 'memoir' until about a third way in. I think, or at least very much hope that you'll 'enjoy' : ) . I think I might give it a full five stars later honestly. Have loved reading the bits about his experience in the 'south' so far. The poems between the prose are also really lovely as well (didn't feel like some half-hearted waffling done to make the text of sort of pretentiously 'pretty' in any case, haha) .
