Enchanting Lives of Others

Can Xue is the pseudonym of the Chinese writer Deng Xiaohua (b. 1953). Formerly a tailor, she began writing fiction in 1983. Her works include Barefoot Doctor, I Live in the Slums, Love in the New Millennium, Five Spice Street, and The Last Lover. Annelise Finegan is academic director and clinical associate professor of translation at New York University.

A New Yorker Most Anticipated Book of 2026Irish Times, Best Fiction of 2026 to Look Forward To“Visionary, uncanny, yet down-to-earth, Can Xue’s voice is unique in Chinese, and global, fiction. This moving, magical novel celebrates the transformative power of literature itself—and shows why great readers make great lovers.”—Boyd Tonkin, author of The 100 Best Novels in Translation“Are there differences between perceiving, remembering, imagining, and dreaming? And which do we use while reading? Can Xue writes as if the boundaries between these activities barely exist. In The Enchanting Lives of Others, her characters glide between mind-states: as fictional constructs of a writer’s psyche; as readers of invented novels; as dreamers of the author’s imagination. This novel places its readers in an almost surreal space within Can Xue’s fictional gymnastics—and submitting to her method reveals astonishing insights into the elasticity of the mind.”—Nick Barley, director, National Poetry Centre, United Kingdom“Can Xue’s novelscape transforms how readers and writers are rearranged through passages and passageways of living, though who are the readers? Who are the writers?—you and I, the novel’s characters, or both? This book is a singular gem.”—Martine Bellen, author of An Anatomy of Curiosity“In this masterful novel, Can Xue invites readers on a journey through layers of meaning. As this book unfolds its wilder, more fantastical elements, the reader is invited to reassess their understanding of the very core of what it means to be human. The Enchanting Lives of Others is both an excellent starting point for anyone interested in Can Xue’s work, and a wonderful addition to her English-language oeuvre.”—Chad W. Post, Open Letter Books