李明霞

Introduction

This book attempts to describe the turmoil and hopelessness of society in the late 1940s as mirrored by the rough life of its protagonist, Miao Daniu. The child of a poor rural family, he is filled with high hopes for life and love, but often confuses his dreams with reality. Miao falls hopelessly in love with Laurel, the daughter of a rich family, but she offers him no true affection in return. Instead, he walks away labeled a lascivious criminal, and would be well on his way to becoming a resentful ghost if it wasn’t for the helping hand of the ugly boss. Then, one dark and stormy night, a flash of lightning illuminates all for him to see. In the face of mortal hardships, he struggles to find his way home – only to leave it in disgust. For what Daniu has seen doesn’t just cause him to lose his home in space, but also his spiritual place in time, his source of emotional comfort and sustenance.

Love, a Year Later - Preview About the Author

Wei Tianzuo, pseudonym Tianzuo, was born in Yuncheng County, Shandong Province, and currently lives in Beijing. A graduate of the Chinese Department of Shandong University, he is a well-respected, professional author, serving as a member of the China Written Works Copyright Society. He has published a number of novellas and essays, which have been selected for awards and publication in national journals on multiple occasions. Among them, four of his short stories have been selected for inclusion in Selected Stories for Middle School Students. His published works include the novels Love, a Year Later, Lost Homeland, and Cursed; the story collections Selected Novellas of Tianzuo, Last Love, and First Love (in three volumes); the prose collections An Overview of the 13 Classics and The Secret of Beauty and Ugliness; and so on.

It was early summer, near dusk.

The village road was quiet, as was the pool beside it. Not even a wisp of wind seemed to disturb the silence. Miao Daniu walked up beside the pool and cast his eye out over the water’s mirror-like surface and up along the lush reed-covered banks. Just then, Miao’s heartbeat quickened, and he felt his bladder grow: this one couldn’t wait. He quickly put down his pails and rushed over to the reeds. When he had gotten in 5 or 6 steps, though, a tornado-like gust of wind swirled by in front of him, and there in the shifting reeds flashed two dazzling balls of white. Then, in a blink of an eye, they were gone.

Miao Daniu stood there, scared stiff, seeming not to notice the urine dripping down his pants leg onto his ankles. It had happened so quickly, and so unexpectedly, that for a moment he truly thought he had seen a ghost. He had heard people tell ghost stories before, heard how spirits would often show up right at twilight in little villages and forests, near ditches and reeds, only to disappear again. But he had never heard of a ghost as blindingly white as this one, nor one that could run so fast it seemed like it was flying.

Gradually, he understood.

When he realized that those two white orbs might have been body parts, his head started ringing as loud as an earthquake, shaking him until he became dizzy. His whole body seemed to lose strength and he trembled so hard that he almost couldn’t stand.

From then on, those two white orbs hung in front of his eyes like a painting.

Sometimes, when he was in the middle of working or especially at night, those orbs would shimmer into view. The more they appeared, the clearer they would be, the more realistic, until they were simply two large, living breasts. This piqued his curiosity, and he couldn’t stop himself from wondering: How could they be so white?  Sometimes, he even felt a twinge of regret, wondering why he didn’t get a better look.

One day, as Miao Daniu was carrying water past the gate of a courtyard, he noticed a girl inside picking flowers. He knew that they grew many types of flowers there – but this girl he had never seen before. She had the body of a willow tree, with a face like a plum blossom; two sharp eyes the color of grapes; and a pair of long, black pigtails.

Without quite realizing it, Miao Daniu had stopped there, completely forgetting about the pails he was carrying on his shoulders. His heart longed to fly up beside her like a happy chick, and ask what she was called, where she was from.

When the girl saw him standing there like that, she suddenly grew very timid, and rushed to hide herself in the flowers. But at the same time, there seemed to be something that she just needed to see clearly, and she carefully pulled away some branches so that she could look back out at him. Her cautious manner reminded him of a hungry sparrow.

The early summer was already quite hot, and what with the noontime sun and the load of water pressing down on his shoulders, Miao Daniu had begun sweating profusely. At first he didn’t notice, but soon he felt as if his face and body were covered with itchy, squirming bugs. When he reached out to grab at them, though, his hand came back full of sweat. It was then that he realized he was standing some place he really ought not to stand. It was a good thing it was noon and everyone was resting, or else someone might see him – and what would they say!

Miao knew he couldn’t stay where he was, and quickly started forward again, spilling water from his pails and washing away in an instant the flowers growing beside the road. But as he stepped past the entrance, he couldn’t help but glance inside.  He wanted to see if the girl was still there – what was she doing? But who would have guessed that as soon as he’d turned his head, she’d be right there beneath the gateway!  Her fingers played absentmindedly with a flower, and when Miao drew closer, she lightly threw it down at his feet, blocking his way forward. Miao froze in his tracks, his heart thumping.

“Why were you watching me just now?” the girl said.

Miao Daniu thought she looked serious, but then again she didn’t seem to want any trouble, so he calmed down a little. Besides, the whole situation was kind of comical anyway: me, watch you? Weren’t you also watching me? Miao figured she was just some bored girl who’d come out looking for someone to talk to. Suddenly feeling inspired, he decided he’d tease her: “You look awfully familiar…haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

But she didn’t realize he was joking. “You, seen me? No way! You’ve got the wrong person!” she said anxiously.

Miao Daniu felt like laughing: this girl was too serious. Really, what did it matter if he’d seen her before? He was just making small talk, after all. He didn’t want to press the issue, though, so he changed the subject, asking quietly: “What’s your name?”

The girl didn’t answer, and instead asked impatiently, “Tell me the truth, have you seen me before or not?”

“I won’t tell you unless you tell me your name!” he teased her.

Hopeless, the girl responded, “If I tell you…you’ll tell me?”

“Go ahead.”

“My name is Laurel,” she said.

Laurel?  Miao Daniu mouthed out the word a few times. But why? She looks so much like a flower – she should have been named Rose! And so he asked: “Are you here to pick flowers? Is that your job?”

“Hey, you still haven’t told me.”

“Told you what?” Miao pretended not to remember.

“You, you liar!” the girl began to get anxious, and in a moment two little tears were slipping down her face.

Miao instantly regretted making fun of her, and just when he was trying to think of something to say, Quinn the cripple called out from behind him: “Daniu, what, have you turned to stone or something? I’m still waiting to water the grass over here!”

Daniu turned again to look at Laurel, only to find that she had disappeared.  Everything around him was still, the golden sun spilling down onto the fading, dreamlike image of her. All that was left was the flower by his feet, like a story of things past.

Now, in addition to those white orbs in his eyes, a mysterious Laurel had taken root in his heart.  Between staring at those and thinking of her, it seemed as if he had fallen into some enormous pit of quicksand, from which he couldn’t begin to extract himself.
 

【作者简介】魏天作，笔名天作，祖籍山东郓城，现居北京。毕业于山东大学中文系，高级职称，专业作家，中国文字著作权协会会员。发表中、短篇小说、散文多篇，作品多次获奖并被国家级文学期刊选载，其中四篇小说入选“中学生阅读丛书”。已出版长篇小说《当爱越过年轮》、《失去的家园》、《逃不出魔咒的人》等；出版中短篇小说集《天作中篇小说选》、《绝恋》、《初恋（上中下）》等；出版文化散文集《十三经概览》、《美与丑的秘密》等。

内容简介

本书力图通过主人公苗大牛坎坷的生活经历，反映出社会的动荡与人生的无奈。苗大牛生活在上世纪四十年代后期，是贫苦农家的孩子，对生活和爱情充满梦幻般的向往，时常把现实与梦境混淆在一起。神差鬼使般爱上富家小姐叶儿，却没有得到叶儿的真爱，反而空担一个淫乱的罪名，若不是丑鬼老大出手相救，早已成了被杀的冤魂……直到一个风雨交加的夜晚，一道闪电照亮了一切，看到了一切。他历尽磨难、九死一生回到家乡，却又含恨离去，失去的不仅仅是空间存在的家园，更是作为时间存在的精神家园，是感情的慰藉和寄托。

本书书评

作者 陈代

《当爱越过年轮》，无论就题材及气派来说，这篇作品可视为魏天作近二十年来创作的重要盘整。在这部长篇小说里，作者叫停了历史、唤回了时间，重启记忆虚构之门，浸于历史往日时光。《当爱越过年轮》的故事看是简单，小说讲述了苗大牛坎坷的生活经历以及他在寻找情感归宿的过程中恩爱情仇，在社会的动荡背景下与人生的无奈变数中，移花接木，另抒新机。作者对人物心理的细致考察和表达，对氤氲在日常生活中看不见、摸不着，然而无处不在的烟火气息和情感痕迹的透彻把握，庄谐杂陈，老辣苍凉，给人留下了深刻的印象。作者事无巨细地描写了男女偷情、亲人被杀、逼良为匪、警匪相通、打家劫舍等主人公奇特的遭遇，这些情节在主人公的带领下些微骚动，曲折回转，不断呈现着似水流年间的无奈与辛酸。其中，最让人难忘的，莫过于作者对生死忧思境遇之中的人物毫不掩饰地宣泄着痛楚和困惑。琐碎而密集的现实关怀趋于极致时，反倒容易引发空阔而苍茫的想象。平实人生生出的戏剧性和虚无感，带来了更真实的切肤之痛。我以为这部小说之所以格外动人心弦，也许正是缘于人事的沉浮，疑幻疑真，人生境遇无法言说，然而深埋其中的伦理、性别和文化的庞杂因素，以困惑、纠缠的形式呈露出来，并进而沉淀出一种深沉的韵律，历久弥新。我也固执地认为这部长篇小说有其前期写作的资源和意趣集大成的气象，放在当今中青年作家的长篇小说作品之中，无疑也属上乘之作。

《当爱越过年轮》预览内容

那是一个初夏的傍晚。

村街上很静，水坑前那片苇地也很静，静得仿佛连一丝风儿都没有。苗大牛走到水坑前，随便地把目光越过如镜的水面，搭到葱茏的苇地上。恰在这时，他心里忽然莫名地悸动了一下，紧接着小腹便鼓胀起来，一股热尿刻不容缓地就要排泄。他急忙放下担子，匆匆走进苇地。大约也就进去了五、六步远，前边不远处，突然“呼呼啦啦”如是飓风般席卷而过；在苇丛动荡起伏之中，有两团耀眼的白光闪烁而去，眨眼而逝……

苗大牛顿时惊呆在那里，热尿顺着裤腿流到脚脖，也全然不知。事情来得太突然了，也太不可思议了。一时间，他真是怀疑遇上了鬼怪。他曾不止一次地听人们讲述过鬼怪的故事。鬼怪常于暮色苍茫时分，出没于村头、树林、水坑、苇地，可是，他还从来没有听说过像今天这样白得耀眼，而且逃遁如飞的鬼怪。

渐渐的，他醒悟了。

当他意识到那两团白光很可能就是人的某一部位时，内心深处引起的訇响顿时如山崩地裂，震得他头晕目眩，浑身像是抽去了筋骨，抖得就要站不住了。

然而那两团白光，却像浮雕一样悬挂在他的眼前了。

有时候，他正好好地干着活儿，那两团白光就忽然在眼前晃动起来；尤其到了晚上，白光愈来愈清晰，愈来愈真切，干脆就是两团高耸而鲜活的乳房了。这就勾出了他的许多好奇，禁不住一遍又一遍地问自己：“怎么那么白呢？”他甚至有些后悔了：“当时怎么不看仔细一点呢？”

有一天，苗大牛担水经过小角门，忽然看见里边有个姑娘正在掐花儿。他知道那里边种着许多花儿，却从来没有看见过这姑娘。姑娘有杨柳般的体态，桃花般的粉脸；一双葡萄样水灵灵的大眼睛，辫子黑又长……

不知不觉地，苗大牛在那里站住了，全然忘记了担水的事，心像一只欢快的小鸟儿，“扑棱扑棱”飞到姑娘的身边，问她叫什么，从哪里来？

姑娘见他这样，很是惊羞的样子，慌忙在花丛中隐没了，可是又像有什么事情非要看清楚不可。她轻轻地拨开几蓬枝叶，不住地向外张望，那小心翼翼地样子，仿佛一只觅食的雀儿。

初夏的阳光已经很暖和了，何况又是中午，何况还有一担水压在肩上，苗大牛渐渐出了许多汗。起初，他全然不知，后来觉得脸上、身上有许多像是小虫子样的东西爬，爬得他很痒很难受，才伸手抓一把，就抓出许多汗；同时也恍然了，他站在了一个很不该站的地方。幸好是在中午，大家都在休息，不然被人看见了，还不知道要说他什么呢？

苗大牛不敢停留，慌忙往前走。水从筲里洒出来，一路种下许多转瞬即逝的花儿。可是当他担着空筲再经过小角门时，还是禁不住要往里边看。他想看看姑娘是否还在里边，现在正在干什么？谁知才一扭头，姑娘就在小角门下边呢！她手里捏着一朵花儿，不经意地摆弄着，等苗大牛走近了，轻轻一掸，正好落在他的脚下，拦住了去路。苗大牛不禁一怔，“咯噔”站在那里。

姑娘说：“刚才，你为什么看我？”

苗大牛看她的样子虽然认真，却也没有多少恼意，便放下心来。况且，这种事情本来就很滑稽，我看你？你不是也在看我吗？还有什么好说的？于是在心里想：这一定是哪个屋里的丫头，闲得没事了，出来找话说。便灵机一动，与她开玩笑说：“我好像在那里见过你，看着好面熟。”

谁知姑娘却当真了，顿时变得慌乱起来：“你见过……不可能！你一定认错人了！”

苗大牛心里想笑，觉得这姑娘未免太实在。其实，见没见过又有什么呢？不就是随便说话儿吗？他不想在这件事上多磨蹭，就转换了一个话题，轻声说：“你叫什么？”

姑娘不答他的话，反而急切地问：“你说清楚，到底见没见过我？”

他逗她说：“不说叫什么，我就不告诉你。”

姑娘无奈，只好说：“我说了，你说不说？”

他说：“你说吧。”

姑娘说：“我叫叶儿。”

叶儿？苗大牛嘴上这样重复着，心里却想：她怎么能叫叶儿呢？应该叫花儿才对！你看她长得多像一朵花儿啊！于是又问：“你是在这里掐花儿吗？掐花儿就是你的活吗？”

姑娘说：“你还没有告诉我呢？”

他装糊涂：“我告诉你什么？”

姑娘急了：“你、你骗人？”

顿时急出两眼泪。

苗大牛一惊，后悔自己不该逗她。才想说点什么，瘸腿老五在后边喊起来：“大牛，你变成木桩了吗？我这里还等着用水淘草呢！”

这时再看叶儿，却没有影子了。

四周一片寂静，日光流金般铺洒下来，人在其间，恍若做梦，唯有脚下的一朵鲜花，仿佛还在讲述着一段往事……

现在，苗大牛眼前不但有了两团晃动的白光，而且心里还有了一个谜样的叶儿。他两眼看着白光，一心想着叶儿，整个人就如同掉进一口阔大无边的泥潭，不能自拔了。