Ground Covered with Chicken Feathers (1992)

Considered the representing work of the "New Realistic" writing, the novella tells of the everyday life of Xiao Lin, and his troubles in office and at home. With the author's catchy storytelling, the book explores changes in mentality from the early years of market economy through the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The book title has also become a popular colloquial phrase, referring to the trifles in life.

[Photo/China Daily]

Cell Phone (2003)

The book takes a hilarious look at how new technology enters into everyday life and its effect on morality. The protagonist is a popular TV anchor, Yan Shouyi, who is entangled in an extra-marital affair that involves a web of lies. Yan's cell phone is the object that always put him in danger of being exposed. The novel was adapted into a movie of the same name by director Feng Xiaogang.

I'm Liu Yuejin (2007)

The novel tells the story of a migrant worker who works at a Beijing construction site. He lost his bag, and in pursuing the thief he got hold of a new bag, filled with secrets of the wealthy. The author portrays the protagonist, Liu Yuejin, as someone with poor logic in life, and through him, readers can interpret social problems at different levels.

One Sentence Worth Thousands (2009)

The novel explores the loneliness of the Chinese, and their desire to communicate. It starts with a young man leaving his hometown to seek an adopted daughter whom he enjoys talking to. The story ends with the man's offspring also seeking the right person to talk with. Liu believes a lacking of real communication has caused Chinese people to feel lonely. The novel won him Mao Dun Literature Prize.