20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth

20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth
Xiaolu Guo
RRP:
NZ$ 26.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 20.80
Paperback
h198 x 129mm - 224pg
14 Oct 2021 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9781784877446
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
‘So I was the 6787th person in Beijing wanting to act in the film and TV industry. There were 6786 young and beautiful, or ugly and old people before me trying to get a role. I felt the competition, but compared with 1.6 billion people in China, 6786 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 1800 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?
"A nihilistic, Generation X-style manifesto... Its impudent, hand-on-hip attitude cannot fail to charm" New Statesman "Funny and melancholy, scintillatingly observed, and has a very big heart" The Times "Both a personal odyssey and an insightful commentary about modern Chinese society and life itself... Xiaolu Guo is an instinctive, humane witness, her atmospheric, unusually physical narratives are alive and attractively insistent, inspired variations on the theme of quest" Irish Times "A pure and bracing blast of universal youth... I loved it. It shines with the utterly blameless, scarily fragile arrogance of youth itself, the absolute certainty that death is better than middle age" Daily Telegraph "A breath of the freshest air imaginable. She cuts through the smog of hype and platitude" -- Boyd Tonkin Independent
Xiaolu Guo was born in a fishing village in south China. She studied film at the Beijing Film Academy and published six books in China before she moved to London in 2002. The English translation of Village of Stone (Chatto, 2004) was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her first novel written in English, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers was published by Chatto in 2007 and shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. Xiaolu's film career continues to flourish: her feature, How is Your Fish Today? (2006) was screened at international film festivals and the ICA, London. She is currently Cannes Film Festival Cinefondation resident, based in Paris.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781784877446
Published: 14 Oct 2021
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage Classics
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Pages: 224

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information

Details of the product above will be automatically included with your enquiry.