What is the author's style in Farewell My Concubine by Lilian Lee?

In addition to the setting, Lee also makes use of many vivid images of violence, pain, and suffering to underscore the starkness of life in China during this time period. One of the most shocking images is of Yanhong chopping off Douzi's extra finger. Although Lee does not actually describe the act itself, she offers several vivid images that follow the act, which leave a strong visual impression in the reader's mind: "Drops of blood in the snow traced Xiao Douzi's path. He now crouched in a lonely corner of the compound, whimpering like a maimed animal." Without actually telling the reader that Douzi's finger has been cut off—something that Lee specifically notes later in the paragraph—the images of blood in the snow and Douzi whimpering in a corner let the reader know what has happened, and provide a powerful visual image.

Lee uses this type of vivid imagery throughout the novel to discuss the harsh training the boys undergo at the school; to describe the many beatings of Dieyi, Xiaolou, and the other characters; and to describe the various ways that characters meet horrible ends. For example, one of the most graphic deaths in the novel takes place when a woman jumps out of a window, trying to escape from a group of Red Guards:

The impact had broken off one of her legs and sent it bouncing over to the base of a wall. Her head had cracked open, spreading brains across the pavement like bean curd. Blood and flesh were splattered everywhere. Something tiny had landed near Dieyi's foot, either a tooth or a finger; but he was too exhausted and numb to care.