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The Enchanting Lives of Others
A Novel
Brief Description
A celebration of the beguiling power of literature, from one of the world's greatest storytellers At the Pigeon Book Club, a circle of readers joins in exhilarating meetings to discuss literature. The only requirements for entry are an all-encompassing love of books and an intuition that...
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The Enchanting Lives of Others
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Description
A celebration of the beguiling power of literature, from one of the world's greatest storytellers
At the Pigeon Book Club, a circle of readers joins in exhilarating meetings to discuss literature. The only requirements for entry are an all-encompassing love of books and an intuition that to read is to love and to love is to read.
Xiao Sang, a department store clerk, wonders if life can ever be as captivating as a novel. Newlyweds Fei and Han Ma struggle to build a marriage as Han Ma discovers a surprising gift for storytelling. Xiao Ma, a hopeful dreamer, explores the possibility of romance with an older man.
Bound by a shared passion for fiction, each book club member seeks to understand the relationship between the stories they read and the lives they lead, revelling in both the quotidian details and the ecstasy of aesthetics.
This is the most accessible work yet from the celebrated writer Can Xue: a utopian comedy and a work of profound joy, a love song to literary inspiration and the remarkable beauty of the ordinary. The Enchanting Lives of Others explores what it means to know and be known to others through the transformative power of reading.
Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters
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Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780300281651
Publisher: Yale University Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 24 February 2026
Country: United States
Imprint: Yale University Press
Contributors:
- Translated by Annelise Finegan
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 156.0mm
Height: 235.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 448
About the Author
Can Xue is the pseudonym of the Chinese writer Deng Xiaohua (b. 1953). Formerly a tailor, she began writing fiction in 1983. Her works include Barefoot Doctor, I Live in the Slums, Love in the New Millennium, Five Spice Street, and The Last Lover. Annelise Finegan is academic director and clinical associate professor of translation at New York University.
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