Overview:

As Liu Xinwu's first novel, Bell Tower and Drum Tower tells a story which takes place within one day – from 5 am to 5 pm on Dec 12, 1982. Shuttling between past and present, the novel presents a vivid picture of secular life in Beijing.

Everything begins in an archaic quadrangle dwelling in Beijing, where Xue Jiyue's mother gets up early to prepare for the son's wedding banquet. Other characters show up one after another.

After narrating their behaviors during the day, the author goes back and tells about their past, with a special concern about the influences from vicissitudes of time, especially how the Cultural Revolution changes those individuals' courses of life. The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower stands there still, witnessing all of those earthshaking changes.

Author: Liu Xinwu

Publisher: Yilin Press

Price: ￥32.80

Mar 2016

ISBN 9787544761727

Paperback 388 pp