Romance Sichuan earthquake novel galvanizes critics
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"We should dare to write about the pure nature of sex with confidence," he claimed. "Readers can even skip the rescue parts and read and think about the romance part separately, because the work is about questioning Chinese people's current affections, which are full of fractures."
The pen name of Ge Dui leaves the author's own identity shrouded.
Nevertheless, Ge Dui claims that being a qualified medical professional gave him unique insights into the novel's themes.
Witnessing so much life and death, the inevitable sentiments and regrets that entail help doctors understand and write about people, he said.
As a researcher into emergency medical management, he spent a good deal of time in Europe studying. In his spare time, he also looks into subjects such as the influence of the Renaissance on the rise of Europe.
He believes that today's Chinese are looking forward to a cultural revival more anxiously than at any other time in history, especially following particular periods of national trauma, such as the 2008 earthquake.
"Apart from great social changes in Chinese people's material life, they haven't found a proper spiritual life, which has prevented China from becoming a truly great power in the world," he said.
He also pointed out that a great number of novels are published each year, but few have touched or educated readers, or even improved society.
"Society can't be changed by novels directly," Ge Dui conceded. "But they can awaken readers."
