"Everyone was a wanderer in the universe and that the ideas of fame, power, and respect were always just a shadow that could vanish at a moment's notice."
Steeped in surreality, "The Backstreets" documents the stark racism involved in Uyghur existence in Xinjiang. Writer Perhat Tursun -- who has been disappeared by Chinese authorities -- has created a multilayered book that ascribes important symbolism to colors, numbers, and anthropomorphization.
With no dialogue, the story takes place entirely inside the narrator's mind, which slowly breaks down under the pressure of childhood abuse, loneliness, racism, sexual frustration, and homelessness. Based on hope and desperation, the narrator embarks on a quest to find a room, having drawn mysterious importance from a list of numbers found on an abandoned piece of paper.
"People seem to be endlessly searching for miracles in the world, but when they find one it angers them."
A line is repeated throughout the tale, capturing the narrator's frame of mind as he pursues belonging around every corner and within every alley. "I don't know anyone in this strange city, so it's impossible for me to be friends or enemies with anyone," he thinks. The dislocation captured in this statement permeates the entire book.
"The Backstreets" proceeds at a frantic pace occasionally interrupted by jumps in chronology, making vital observations about pollution of both environment and souls. This eerie, haunting book helps form an essential source of context in the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people in China.
"To eradicate the threat that comes from the infinity of the universe, humans have broken it up into the small parts where they live -- giving it borders and standards."
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