Explosions and Other Stories

by Mo Yan

His book for me is like a dictionary to understanding the huge differences between life in the city and the countryside. Sometimes it feels like there is 500 years of difference. The problem is that the young people move to the city and learn so much and then when they go home it is very difficult to communicate with the older generation, who are often peasants who have never been educated or travelled to the next village.

他的著作于我而言是一部理解乡村与城市生活差异的辞典。有的时候你会感觉这种差异有500年之久，其中的问题就在于年轻人进城之后改变了太多，当他们回到乡村时已经无法和老一辈的那些没有受过教育，没有出过村子的农民们沟通。