"Life is like the sea" Author: Mai Jia Publisher: Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House

★Douban 2019 Annual Book List·Chinese Literature (Fiction) No. 1

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"He is the most bizarre person in the village. He has so many weird names that you can count them one by one on your fingers:

First, he had been a colonel in the Kuomintang army and was the target of struggle by the revolutionary masses. But while they were fighting him, they were also trying to curry favor with him and would go to him for advice on any issues at home.

Second, everyone said he was a eunuch, but we kids often peeked at his private parts, and it seemed to be still full and in good shape.

Third, he never goes out to work or do farm work. He just stays at home every day reading newspapers and eating sunflower seeds, but he lives a more comfortable life than anyone else. He also raises a pair of cats like children, and treats them like pets. It's crazy!"

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"Life is a Sea" tells the story of a person's life as he travels through the times and struggles. The bizarre story hides the sigh-worthy taste of life, which includes both the cruelty that arises from daily life and the kindness that time brings.

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Life is like the sea. There are always cold and violent waters, as well as gentle and warm currents.

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"Life destroyed him, but it also allowed him to overcome the fear of life and death and the cruelty of the world, becoming enlightened and invincible."

He knows how to shine in glory, and also knows how to keep himself in humbleness.

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★Mai Jia's powerful and transcendent work: revealing the absurdity and nobility of human nature in the most indescribable place

★The charm of novels lies in their ability to make non-existent characters seem like our friends. Mai Jia's "Life is a Sea" is so charming. - Mo Yan

★Ma Jia always has the temperament of a bystander. Once he opens his mouth, his language is so precise. His details are so touching, and his thoughts are so profound. If I were to use a poem to describe my feelings after reading "Life is a Sea", it would be "Looking back at the bleak place, there is no wind or rain, and no clear sky." - Dong Qing

★What I want to write about is the luck born out of despair, and the outstanding morality in hardship. I want to set up a new mountain, return to my childhood, return to my hometown, and decipher the code of human heart and human nature. - Mai Jia

★ "Life Is Like the Sea" is a masterpiece in which Mr. Mai Jia surpassed his first peak and climbed to the next peak of literature in his heart. ——Gao Xiaosong

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★"Life is like the sea. Courage is not needed to die. Courage is needed to live. You have to remember this sentence for me. If I don't encounter it, dying a few times will not be enough."

★Life is like the sea, after the tide goes out comes the tide.

You call it a waste, a laughing stock, a sin, but that is my heroism.