The Book of Sand

The Book of Sand takes the 1915 Xilai’an (Tapani incident) and its associated figures and local history as its point of departure, interweaving historical records, field research, and fictional writing. Following the gaps left in history, the novel reimagines undocumented lives and experiences, extending its perspective beyond the human to allow sand, objects, and plants to become subjects of observation and memory. Dreams and oracles seep into reality, while several “rehearsal” chapters transform history into a stage, recombining figures, events, and symbols through repeated enactments. As different narrative layers permeate one another, the boundaries between human and nonhuman, fact and fiction, gradually dissolve.