Alive

Published for over thirty years and translated into more than fifty languages, if your impression of "To Live" is still that of "a book of suffering that will make you cry your eyes out," then you've likely only understood half of it. This book tells the story of an old man named Fugui, who in his life buried his parents, wife, children, and son-in-law. Finally, even his grandson, Kugen, left him, leaving him with only an old ox for company. It sounds like a series of devastating blows from fate, but from Fugui's narration, you'll discover that suffering isn't the whole story. As Yu Hua said, "Life is everyone's own feeling; it does not belong to anyone else's opinion." This isn't a book that will drown you in sadness, but rather one that can accompany you through difficult times. It teaches us: as long as you can still feel, simply being alive is the entire meaning.