Hard Like Water
Yan Lianke, Carlos Rojas (translation)Hard Like Water is a thrilling story about an erotic affair during China's Cultural Revolution.
Returning to his hometown—and his wife—soldier Aijun sees a young woman, Hongmei, wandering barefoot along the railway tracks in the late-afternoon sun. From that moment on, Aijun & Hongmei spend their days & nights writing pamphlets & attending rallies: they are the engines of history. But soon their sexual & revolutionary fervour merge & a crazed new love explodes between them.
The party bosses are impressed by the ardour of the pair's work. Emboldened, the couple build a 'tunnel of love'—to further the revolution, of course, but also to connect their homes for their secret rendezvous. What will happen to their dreams of a life together?
Hard Like Water is an irresistible tale about sex & revolution, & a compelling drama about the nature of political power—by one of China's greatest contemporary writers.
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Yan Lianke is the author of the memoir Three Brothers & numerous novels & novellas, including Hard Like Water, The Day the Sun Died, The Explosion Chronicles, The Four Books, Lenin’s Kisses, Serve the People!, Dream of Ding Village, & The Years, Months, Days. He was awarded the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature & the Franz Kafka Prize, among many accolades. He was twice a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize, & he has been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, the Man Asian Literary Prize, & the Prix Femina Étranger. He has also received two of China’s most prestigious literary honors, the Lu Xun Prize & the Lao She Award.
Carlos Rojas is Professor of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University. He has translated seven of Yan’s novels, including Hard Like Water, The Day the Sun Died, & The Explosion Chronicles