What is it about nostalgia that refuses to bleed and die? What does it say about me that I binge on youth-themed books, dramas, and movies? Having finished Tong Hua's The Youth We Can No Longer Return To recently, I'm longing for something similar. So here it is: Suddenly, This Summer by Ming Qian Yu Hou.
Summary:
Memories are like the air; love is the distance between two cities [referring to Karen Mok's song]. This is not fictional love story, but the story of your own first love, so pure that it makes one envious of your youth. Such an innocent love makes us constantly look back at a time that is bright and precious.
Back then, high schooler Zhang Yuan stared at her arrogantly. “Little miss, look up. Let Master, I, look at you carefully.” Back then, Zhang Yuan bashfully dodged He Luo’s claws. “Now you’re already my person, whether you’re flat or round, isn’t it all mine?” Back then, Zhang Yuan stood for 18 hours to come to Beijing. Travel-worn, he said, “You lazy girl, did you just wake up?” Back then, Zhang Yuan handed He Luo photos of her home(?). “I thought you would be the madam of the house.”
So effortless, so brave, so proud, even the last tear was filled with warmth. Thus, we refuse to grow old, like picking up a book and reading it over and over again. Thus, before we grow old, please savour this book, as if savouring memories of our own youth.
Read here: Prologue
Read here: Prologue
Tong Hua is notorious of sad ending, am wondering if this is HE? Thank you, I re read your completed translated novels.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't Tong Hua's book, but hopefully the ending is miles, miles away from her endings. I'm trying a new way of reading as I translate so I'm in the dark about the ending. So I'll be finding out roughly at the same time as the readers here :)
DeleteHi SERENA are you gonna finish translating this Novel ,.. I hope you do .:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your hard work translating all of your project . Greatly appreciated :)