A Sickman’s Diary

Abstract

A hilarious parody of Lu Xun's modern 1918 classic "A Madman's Diary,” this short story is a political allegory that satirizes surveillance monitoring under the veil of surgical masks. Readers may also enjoy hearing what happened to the protagonist afterward: Having experienced the first lockdown in City W two years ago, Mr. C. went to Cities X and S, where he was again quarantined each time. Recently, he started a new life abroad. Nobody wears masks there. As soon as he took off his mask, he was infected by a mutated COVID-19 virus. During self-isolation, however, his mental illness fully recovered. Now, please enjoy these pages from his diary. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.