How the Voices in Scenes Are Conveyed—Reading Ge Liang’s Short Stories

Abstract

The short stories written by Ge Liang are simple yet sophisticated, always revealing a slice of life through plain narration. His short stories not only allow one to trace the “pioneering” influence of Su Tong but also carry Su Tong’s unique writing style and characteristics. It seems that Ge Liang is able to offer insight into the softest part of humanity, narrating fatalistic yet hardworking characters. His stories are written in a detailed and authentic style, exhibiting the literary memory of a young southern writer in a “more southern” region with a “southern imaginary” form linked to writers of Su Tong’s generation. This form includes cultural, geographical, and daily life features. Every life detail and the aesthetic style contained has become the basic tone and color of Ge Liang’s writing, forming a literary narrative with a distinct style.

Key words： Ge Liang, short stories, southern imagination