Tan, Chee Lay

The book is divided into three parts, the first part is the modern novel review, the second part is the modern prose review, and the third part is the cultural art review. From the perspective of literary extension, the author explores style, inspiration and literary phenomena with a strong sense of intuition and from an “alternative and special” angle.

From the perspective of literary connotation, the special alternative content of alienation is also the main object of discussion; from the perspective of literary chronology, the anti-Japanese wars and Kuomintang-Communist co-operations and civil wars in the 1930s, to the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, to the mainlanders who retreated to Taiwan from the mainland between the 1940s to 1980s, to the Taipei movies of the 1990s, and to the "New Three People's Principles" of Singapore in the 21st century, the author picked stories of ordinary people that happened in such a time of dramatic changes, as his subjects of criticism, has its own "special alternative" vision.

The author uses a large number of aesthetic theories to interpret life and death from Freud's subconscious mind, to aesthetic master Bock's "distance theory", to Kant's "completeness" and then to the existential master Heidegger's "boarder situation". The author selects the alternatives in the masterpieces from a special perspective to interpret the mystery in the imagery, measures and construct the literary atmosphere.

He combines aesthetics with morality, historical insights with worldly life, and presents his own literary life and philosophy of life. Review itself is poetics. The author's arguments are "unexpected", but the discussions are "expected". His Chinese experience and his time studying in Europe will all bring the readers to a live journey in understanding literary aesthetics.

本书分为三个部分，第一部分是现代小说评论，第二部分是现代散文评论，第三部分是文化艺术评论。 从文学外延来看，作者带着强烈的直觉意识从“另类” 的角度来探讨文体、启发与文学现象； 从文学内涵来看，异化的另类内容也是主要的探讨对象；从文学年表来看，从三十年代的抗日与国共背景，到六十年代的文革，以及从大陆退守台湾的外省人，到九十年代的台北电影，再到二十一世纪新加坡的“新三民主义”，作者从大时代中拣选小故事，作为评论对象，自有其“另类”的眼光。

作者运用大量的美学理论，从弗洛伊德的潜意识，美学大师博克的“距离说”到康德的“完满”再到存在主义大师海德格的“极限境况”来诠释生与死。作者以独特的眼光选评大师级作品里的另类，意象里的玄机，并测量文学氛围的温度和营造手法。

他结合美学与道德观照，揉合历史识见、与世俗生命，呈显自己的文学生活与人生哲学，评论本身就是诗学。 作者的论点“出人意料”，论述却是“入人意中”， 他的中国经验与留学欧洲，都将成为一部部亲临现场的文艺美学。