Speaking for the up and coming generation of China, Mian Mian's autobiographical novel, Candy, deals with issues like sexuality, drug abuse, and China's opening to the rest of the world. Mian Mian's fresh, strident, and brutally honest voice illuminates the anguish of an entire generation as the novel paints a picture of modern China that most readers have never experienced for themselves.
Mian Mian's focus on the instability of her life, and the lives of other young people, is the running theme of the novel. Brutally honest, often very personal descriptions such as, "I was twenty- two years old and dead on the vine," and "My life was skidding into darkness at high speed, and I couldn't stop it," are what develop the storyline and make the theme such a strong one. The novel is autobiographical and Mian Mian relies heavily on her own personal experiences to reach out and connect with her readers. Even though the book has been translated, it still contains many Chinese references, giving the reader a sense that they have been let into a whole new world, different from their own.
After reading Candy in its entirety, I felt as though I had gained a whole new perspective on China and how people live their lives there. I had never before read such an honest and realistic description of how young people live in modern day China. This novel is significant in that it exposes many of the harsh realities of China that outsiders wouldn't be able to see for themselves. I feel that any literature that opens reader's minds to different ways of living is important and always enlightening.
