Modern Express News (reporter Zheng Wenjing) reporter learned that young writer Jing Fan, following the 2018 "China Good Book" "Children of Paint Factory", recently launched a new work with a realistic theme , "Open Air Kitchen". The book is a long children's novel created by Jiangsu Phoenix Children's Publishing House, which aims to explore the concept of life and outlook on life with teenagers.
"Good Books of China" by Jing Fan, author of the new work
Inspired by the real-life "anti-cancer kitchen"
Jing Fan, a native of Ningxiang, Hunan, currently lives in Beijing. He is the author of novels such as "The Children of Paint Mill" and "Distant Rainbow Class", and his works have been selected as the 2018 "China Good Book", the top five of the 3rd Jingdong Literature Award, and won the 2018 Bingxin Children's Book Award, and the 14th Zhejiang Provincial Spiritual Civilization Construction "Five One Project" Excellent Work Award.
Why did you come up with the idea of creating such a unique story? Jing Fan said that a few years ago, by chance, she saw a report about a loving kitchen next to a provincial cancer hospital, was deeply moved, and later found that other cities also have the same "anti-cancer kitchen", so she used this as a background to conceive the story of "Open Air Kitchen", hoping that children can recognize our misfortune and hope in the face of difficulties in this era, thus triggering their thinking about life, life and death, the truth and wisdom of life.
Because it involves cancer patients and their families in cancer hospitals, the work naturally seems a little heavy, and as a children's novel, the daily life, love and child sexuality need to be expressed in a relatively light, easy for children to understand and accept, and a tension is formed between the two.
For example, this force is like the chain of a bicycle, requiring the cyclist to switch between tension and relaxation according to road conditions and other factors, otherwise it will not be able to travel smoothly. Jing Fan said frankly: "Fortunately, because I know that it is not easy, I simply adopted a more relaxed 'game' mentality when creating, and also told myself to go with the flow, so in the light and heavy tug-of-war, I was able to drive away the fear and break through by chance." "
From the perspective of children and teenagers
With a mellow and warm "taste"
Jing Fan wrote about such an open-air kitchen separated from the cancer hospital: Xia Zi's grandparents ran a breakfast shop in an alley next to the cancer hospital, and once a woman borrowed a pot stove to cook for a sick child, and since then, a loving kitchen full of fireworks and human voices has slowly taken shape in the alley, and countless patients and their families have gained comfort and warmth from this small world. At a young age, Xia Zi and Dong Zi sisters were heard by the good deeds of their grandparents and fathers, and also gained profound life education in the special suffering group of cancer patients and their families such as Yue Ya'er, Uncle Qin and his wife, Sister Jasmine, Xiaoyu Dian, Bai Lu's mother, and the medical staff represented by Dr. Ren.
The kitchen involves life and connects the families of cancer patients, and the unique open-air kitchen in the novel is associated with illness and death, and this design opens up life and death.
"Open Air Kitchen" focuses on portraying a fighting spirit, love and dreams. From the perspective of children and young people, the work uses simple and innocent eyes to see patients and their families who are struggling in pain and hope, to see kind, professional and conscientious medical personnel, and to see caring people who have silently helped doctors and patients for many years. They staged one scene after another of life struggles, separations and departures in front of xia zi, dong zi and yuan yuan, so that these children and readers could clearly see the destruction of life by disease.
As Jing Fan said, "Those who founded the 'anti-cancer kitchen', those ordinary people who stubbornly fought against the disease, those medical staff with selfless love ... It is their most precious kindness and love, their tenacity to suffering, respect and perseverance in life, shining like light in the long river of time and space, and this light nourishes and illuminates us. "
Therefore, although the work depicts various difficulties, the tone of the story is not pessimistic, but alludes to hope in suffering, turns sadness into courage, and has a mellow and warm "taste" that soothes the soul.
【Famous Reviews】
The theme of "Open Kitchen" is very unique, writing about fireworks in the world, life and old age, illness and death. In general, the life of children and adults in the city is quite touching, and such expressions are relatively rare.
——Gao Hongbo (Vice Chairman of China Writers Association)
The narrative of the work, which begins in two kitchens, from the kitchen of the home to the open kitchen, and then draws out the cancer patient and his family, has a profound meaning. Through the description of a variety of cancer patients, the reader can clearly see the destruction of life by disease and people's cherishing of life, and integrate great love into the plot of the novel. Embody the core values of socialism in the way of children's literature, and create such an atmosphere through stories: there is love in the world, love for the sick, love for family affection, love for children, and love for society. The work has many characters and diverse personalities, and the story has ups and downs, reflecting the charm of structural complexity and story diversity
——Wang Zheng (Vice Chairman of Jiangsu Writers Association)
A furnace that never goes out not only satisfies the patient's appetite, but also stimulates their desire for life, feels the beauty of life, and brings them social love, warmth and strength. The fire in the open-air kitchen is no longer a fire in the usual sense, but a warm and beautiful landscape in the world, the light of life, and the warmest and most distinctive background color of this novel.
——Wang Xiurong (Member of the Editorial Board of Phoenix Media, Former Editor-in-Chief of Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House)
Jing Fan wrote a song and tearful farewell with deep affection and restraint, depicted a figure of sad departure, and guarded the comfort and hope of a full meal with the unquenchable fire of the "open kitchen". She writes about the "death" of cancer patients as a unique "life-making" process; she laments the acts of kindness that are happening in China's current social life, adding a strange light to the "Chinese story".
——Yao Suping (Professor, Jiangsu Second Normal University)
"Open Air Kitchen"
Jiangsu Phoenix Children's Publishing House
Author: Jing Fan
Published: March 2022
Source: Courtesy of the publisher
(Edited by Zhang Yu)