With enthralling and precise language, this first book in Two Lines Press’ Calico series of collected translated literature impresses ...This collection of speculative Chinese fiction is compelling and provocative, exploring the thin line between reality and absurdity.
The theme of this collection is speculative fiction, a genre which, according to the publishers, blends reality with fantasy and absurdity. There is plenty to speculate about in Hong Kong and China, and these authors tackle income disparity, urbanization, and sexual harassment but not necessarily in a Hong Kong or Chinese context ...
stories address the environment, sexual harassment in the workplace, and a feminist take on Little Red Riding Hood, in which Dorothy Tse’s character F rides a series of trains to visit her grandma and learns the mysteries behind her grandmother’s unusual tea. The stories all give the reader an oblique insight into contemporary social issues in Hong Kong and China, issues which however, could occur just about anywhere.
This remarkable anthology of Chinese speculative fiction offers seven tales of societal responsibility and individual freedom ... By turns cryptic and revealing, phantasmagorical and straightforward, these tales balance reality and fantasy on the edge of a knife. This provocative sampler of Chinese fiction is both challenging and rewarding.
