Extremely short stories-known as short-shorts-have become a global
phenomenon, but nowhere have they been embraced as enthusiastically as
in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The form's artistic and
aesthetic freedoms allow authors to capture the tone, texture, and chaos
of their rapidly changing societies in infinitely inventive ways.
Fragments and contingencies reveal unofficial histories, undocumented
memories, and the trials of everyday individuals, and the genre's lean
format is a welcome antidote to a culture characterized by rampant
excess.
Loud Sparrows is a spirited collection of ninety-one short-shorts
written by Chinese authors over the past three decades. Presenting
diverse voices and perspectives by writers both well known and new to
the art, the stories are culled from newspapers, magazines, literary
journals, and personal collections. Their subjects range from the
mundane to the sublime and illuminate everything from humanist ideals to
traditional virtues to the material benefits of a commercialized
society. The anthology is organized into thematic categories such as
Change, Creatures, (In)fidelities, Grooming, Governance, Nourishment,
and Weirdness, and includes notes to better understand the genre. Each
section is introduced by an original piece of flash fiction written by
Howard Goldblatt.
The short-short, to borrow a Chinese saying, is "small as a sparrow but
has all the vital organs" of a good story. Loud Sparrows offers a
comprehensive introduction to a unique literary genre that has
revolutionized world literature.
