Uninterrupted People (Bu Jian Duan De Ren) by Shuang Xuetao
Shanghai. Shanghai Sanlian Culture Publishing House. 2024. 308 pages.
Shuang Xuetao, who was born in 1983 and raised in northern China, began his writing career in his late twenties. His novels are particularly noteworthy for their romanticism, which he brings to light for those in the underclass. Shuang is talented at portraying eccentrics and those who live in times of material scarcity but require spiritual fulfillment. He has won numerous prestigious literature prizes in China, including the Chinese World Cinema Fiction Award, Wang Zengqi Prize for Chinese Fiction, and Blancpain-Imaginist Literary Award. Shuang has gradually shifted his writing style from realism to magical fantasy, as seen in his latest work, Uninterrupted People. His writing principle constantly explores the unknown without limiting himself to local narratives. Shuang creates new perspectives that reveal the relationship between life and death, fiction and reality, which are considered eternal propositions.
Uninterrupted People is a collection of seven unique and stand-alone short stories. The title story challenges the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI), with Professor Lu Sisi creating two massive machines and transferring her spirit to one of them. The other machine, however, takes over the body of staff member Lao Diao. Though the machines have parasitized humans, their original consciousness still exists. AI can perform tasks accurately but cannot explore the unknown world with the same emotions as humans. The spirit and body are inseparable; love and expectations should always be held within oneself.
In the second story, “The Lady’s Choice,” a successful middle-aged writer becomes involved with two women, only caring about his own virtual reality. The older woman believes she is more mature due to experiencing the harsh reality of marriage after a divorce, but the reality is different. The younger woman embodies direct power and chooses to be decisive in the face of inequality. The third story, titled “Assassin’s Lover,” intricately weaves a plot surrounding an assassin who attempts to save himself after committing a heinous act. In doing so, he becomes lost and yearns to leave a lasting impression on others to prove his existence. “A Visitor from the Fragrant Hills” delves into the manipulation of reality by the powerful through their adept storytelling skills. They create a world where the vulnerable live unknowingly, consolidating their position and whitewashing their egos with their vast resources. “The White Boxer” portrays the isolation of the boxer’s hometown, where the color white symbolizes the pure essence of the boxer’s heart. Alas, the boxer cannot fight against the already transformed environment of his hometown. The sixth story, titled “Buying Dogs,” touches upon the confinement of existence. It likens human beings to dogs, with those married confined to one type of enclosure and those unmarried to another. “Explosion” depicts the monstrous realities of disparate social classes. The leisurely pursuit of creating such explosions in daily life appears to be a pastime for the upper class, who indulge in the virtual world.
Through the creation of diverse characters in Uninterrupted People, Shuang displays the essence of his writing career: bringing the unknown to life. In doing so, he weaves together the bonds between individuals with seemingly supernatural ease. Protagonists must take action to sever the ties of fate’s dead ends, or else they will remain unresolved indefinitely.
Jiang Yajun
Nanjing Normal University
