Running Through Beijing

Americans mostly know Chinese literature as political literature - think Mo Yan, the Cultural Revolution, dissidents, and censorship - but there's a whole other world of punk lit chronicling the harsh realities faced by the millions living in China's mega-cities. Meet Dunhuang: just out of prison for selling fake IDs, he has barely enough money for a meal. He also has no place to stay, no friends to call on, and no prospects for earning more yuan. When he happens to meet a pretty woman selling pirated DVDs on the road, he falls into both an unexpected romance and a new business venture. But when her on-and-off boyfriend steps back into the picture, Dunhuang is forced to make some tough decisions. In Running through Beijing, leading young Chinese author Xu Zechen draws on his actual experiences and real-life friends to guide us through an underworld of constant thievery, hard-core porn, cops (both real and impostors), prison, bribery, crazy landladies, rampant drinking, and the smothering, bone-dry dust storms that blanket one of the world's largest cities in thick layers of grime. Like a literary Run Lola Run, it follows a hustling hero rushing at breakneck speed to stay just one step ahead of a world constantly fighting to drag him down. Full of action, surprises, heartfelt sentiment, and well-drawn, authentic citizens from the People's Republic, Running through Beijing is a masterful performance from a writer who knows underground China inside and out.