To live – Yu Hua

“These chickens will become geese after they grow up, the geese will become two  goats, and the goats will become cows. And we will be more and more rich. ”

I’ve read this book on December 31, maybe not the best way to end the year or to start a new one.  It’s a book that reveals a dramatically transformation of the main character. At the beginning, the novel seems to be boring, but as you read it, it captivates you and provokes in you profound sadness. The novel is written in ’90 years, but the action is taking part in the ’40, during the Chinese Revolution. This is the argument that the publishing was initially forbidden by the Chinese authorities.

Xu Fugui starts as a prodigal son, losing the family fortune to gambling. He beats his wife, spends his time in whorehouses, a disgusting character. Everything changes when the family is forced to move to a cheaper house and his father pass away. Here begins the whole drama. Fugui goes to search for a doctor in the city for his sick mother, but is forced to enroll in the national army. He doesn’t return home for two years, period when his mother dies. It follows the death of his son, Youqing (died secondary to a excessive blood donation), his wife, Jazhen, his daughter , Fengxia (dead after a prolonged labour), his son-in-law (Erxi), then his grandchild (Kugen). The poverty caused by political changes emphasizes the tragedies . The drama is watching this character losing all his closed relatives, guarding the strength to continue, to live. The reader will change his mind: first, he despise Fugui, but progressively this old man will acquire an aura, ending by being admired. Being young and careless, Fugui had beaten his wife, later we read about a man who is taking care of his wife, compassionate and loving.

This character, Fugui, is actually showing the reader that he is living, despite no matter what tragedy, because the man is indebted to live his life. The novel is a real lesson of life, though and shattering ….