Book Review for Lu Hsun’s Selected Stories

Lu Hsun is a great writer, who has written a book, which is exactly a collection of English translations of stories, named Selected Stories of Lu Hsun. This book consists of eighteen narratives and a preface to them titled “Call to Arms”. Every story has its own beginning, interesting exciting continuation, and logical edifying conclusion. I realized that there are three major themes in this book.

First, habits, abilities and mind, human psychology, spiritual feeling — all of these should be studied, checked and connected together. Resulting consequences directly correspond to the mentality of people. Basically, the citizens should change their ideology and mind, and only after these improvements, actions, and attitudes to the environment would be altered for the better.

The second theme is about people-intellectuals, people-innovators, people-revolutionaries, and people with the strikingly different ability of thinking. It emphasizes on how all these people should get along with society, which way exactly they should choose in order to avoid being mocked and disgraced in the present society.

Third and the most important theme is that how people are used to acting in standard situations. It is the topic of domestic customs, traditions, and beliefs.  Namely, folk beliefs in the author’s family regarding medicine caused a great influence on the author and the formation of further outlook.

After reading this book, I drew parallels between these life stories and my own. Lu Hsun nimbly described different funny, curious, and serious situations in the lives of many people, and now I see that I was not so lonely in my decisions. I understood that every man on this planet is unhappy, though in very diverse situations; but emotions are always the same. Every person in this world has his own rood and tries to keep to it, simultaneously aiming to make the world better. This convinces me that we just should never try to cut our cross.