Exploring the Art of the Novel

Tolstoy recalls that when he was writing the part where the heroine throws herself in front of a train in Anna Karenina, he hunched over his desk and burst into tears. Anna Karenina's death made it impossible for him to control his emotions. Tolstoy says that he did not want Anna Karenina to die, but her destiny and character inevitably led her to throw herself in front of the train. This is the case with all the great realist writers of the nineteenth century, who found themselves in an experience where they were unable to control the fates of their characters, but were also led by the inevitable destinies of these characters. All great realist writers consider themselves merely speakers through the mouths of their characters, and they feel that their fictional characters take their place in terms of importance and significance. We can say that it is as if when Nora decided to leave the house, Henrik Ibsen could not stop her from doing so in any way. The writer is merely a narrator behind the scenes, possessing neither the authority nor the ability to control the destinies of his characters. The less control the writer has over the fate of his character, the more vibrant and lively that character appears, and vice versa. If the writer has a hand in the direction of the story and the fate of the character, that character appears rigid and weak. The same applies in realist literature: the less authority and status the writer has regarding the fate of his character, the better. In other words, the best thing a writer can do is disappear.

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In this important work, Yan Lianke delves into different dimensions of literature, attempting to explore the depths of writing and realism and his assumptions about them, revealing the most important works that inspired him and shaped his experience and literary consciousness, bringing together the most important names in the history of literature and the novel, and giving us a close look at the history and conditions of modern and contemporary novel.

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Excerpts from Yan Lianke's "Exploring the Art of the Novel"

A writer who does not respect the creativity of another writer lives in a kind of ignorance, just as a writer who does not question the writers who preceded him is useless.
Realist novels belong to the readers, while the act of writing them belongs to the writers.
Just as humans need water, air, and clothing, no national literature can escape the influence of realism.
Several institutions, such as China's propaganda system and the Chinese Writers' Association, have succeeded, through literary efforts, in building and consolidating a structured system of realism. Their method of doing so is to create an imagined reality in literature aimed at making the structure impressive.