Muyun Qiu

The Tracks Muyun Qiu

"There are moments when you think you cannot decide your track... There are traumas trying to defeat you and to deprive you of happiness... They make you lose things that are lovely... And this drives you mad..." This was Feng Shiqiang's final statement in court before he was sentenced to death with reprieve for deliberately causing a fatal railway incident. Why did he, who was once a diligent and obedient exemplary student in a railway college, feel that he had lost control over his life, and why did he seek revenge against the world which he found unfair? Is he a demonic criminal deserving his punishment, or is he another victim of some more profound social issues? This is a novella about the stratification of the modern Chinese society, dysfunctional families, the emergence of criminal motives, and the extent to which one can plan and decide one's own life. And last but not least, this is a novella about the railway.