The Winding Dirt Road (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781964700083)

Hoarded in the depth of memories of the past decades, this has been a work long overdue.

Written as an antithesis to all first-hand and second-hand propaganda written by both Chinese and foreign writers for China in the good part of 20th century in a fictional form, this collection, through different times and lands, gives insights into how human docile nature and characteristics are manipulated and brought about cultural and social corrosion over the century. The outcome thus sees "a monumental loss breathtakingly massive than any period that preceded it." Subsequently, it foreshadows a system that "would bring out not the best but the worst in people, against people, any people." (Event Horizon)

The first story is written as an introduction in addition to the prologue. From there, the collection proceeds with interrelated subjects or topics, building up causes and factors. At every turn, it gathers momentum and convenes halfway through the book to form the major components of critical perspectives at a juncture.

Extracts:

A man recounted that "despite seven decades, Chinese political orientation, even though after certain transformations, remains invariant." (Unforgiven);

A woman overheard every word " ... to the effect that the crime that aids and abets the enemy is greater than the crime that delivers." (Barrel Of A Gun);

The boy was constantly exposed to "the atmosphere abounded with tension and antagonism, with either party constantly looking for startling antitheses amid an otherwise tranquil life." (The Winding Dirt Road);

A man warned that "Because strict directives were being implanted in your mind, the moment you came to this life, you entered a lease contract on terms you could not dictate; you were part of a socialist mechanism without consent, without free will." (The Mother of All Antidotes)