Floating Wood
Floating Wood, by Yang Benfen, delivers raw, intimate first-person narratives of life in rural China spanning decades. Through unflinching, vivid storytelling, it chronicles the author’s family’s brutal struggles: her mother’s relentless labor to raise six children, the heart-wrenching loss of infant brother Yang Rui to untreated illness, and her older brother’s persecution during the Cultural Revolution for standing against corruption. It also weaves in tales of neighboring villagers—from a disfigured mother who rejects her daughter to a childless woman’s tragic end—painting a rich portrait of ordinary people clinging to hope amid hardship. Later chapters shift to the author’s own journey: raising her kids through financial strain, caring for her ailing husband, and finding quiet joy in her golden years with her granddaughter and elderly partner. These stories aren’t just about suffering; they’re a testament to the quiet resilience, deep love, and unbreakable bonds that sustain people through life’s darkest tides.