20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth

Összefoglaló

'So, I was the 6,787th person in Beijing wanting a job in the film and TV industry. Between me and a role stood 6,786 other people - young and beautiful, old and ugly. I felt the competition, but compared with 1.5 billion people in China, 6,786 wasn't such a daunting number. It was only the population of my village. I felt an urge to conquer this new village.' Life as a film extra in Beijing might seem hard, but Fenfang - the spirited heroine of Xiaolu Guo's new novel - won't be defeated. She has travelled 1,800 miles to seek her fortune in the city, and has no desire to return to the never-ending sweet potato fields back home. Determined to live a modern life, Fenfang works as a cleaner in the Young Pioneer's movie theatre, falls in love with unsuitable men and keeps her kitchen cupboard stocked with UFO instant noodles. As Fenfang might say, Heavenly Bastard in the Sky, isn't it about time I got my lucky break? Xiaolu Guo established a huge following with her Orange Prize shortlisted novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers and her fans will be no less delighted by her playful and poignant new novel. 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth draws on Xiaolu's own film-making experience and is illustrated with haunting photographs that brilliantly capture daily life in the Chinese megalopolis. But the novel is more than a captivating snapshot of modern China; in Fenfang's story, Xiaolu describes a young woman's search for beauty and belonging that is recognisable the world over.