[Reader Reviews]
"There are many reasons to be happy, yet sometimes I wish to end my life" - not a declaration but a normal thought that most of us have experienced. I deeply understand the snail she illustrated.

We are all snails who simultaneously wish for world's destruction and love its beauty.

This tiny book feels like an old friend waiting on shore, saying: "See? You swam here successfully. You can keep doing so. Even if you can't, that's okay too."

★ The debut philosophical and healing picture book by Wu Shiqi, author of “The Ten-Year Correspondence Between Two Ordinary Women”—ranked No. 9 in the 2025 Douban (China's leading book and film review platform,like The Goodreads) Annual Chinese Literature (Non-Fiction) list!

★ Through warm illustration, the author portrays a snail's contemplation of life and death. The snail's character resonates with modern individuals' existential struggles, carrying its shell like a mountain burdening every soul. The protagonist asks: "I should be happy, and have reasons to be happy, but why do I still feel unhappy?"

★ Without evading existential questions, the author confronts the soul's darkest corners to discover life's strongest inner light. By entering the snail's imagination about death, readers jointly seek meaning in existence. This shared journey helps overcome life's loneliness and confusion, restoring courage to face challenges!

★ In its 56 compact pages, this work captures modern people's complex emotions - simultaneously wanting destruction while loving the world - conveying a gentle hope of "small yet sincere blooming". When you hold this book, perhaps the snail in your heart will regain strength to overcome life's mountains and oceans.
★ English translation samples available.

Wishing for world's destruction while loving this world - we are all tiny snails living toward death.
This anxious, fragile, introverted snail moves slowly, battles poorly, and constantly questions: "What's the purpose of living?" Thus deciding to seriously contemplate "how to die", musing repeatedly about death's great mystery.

Through this snail, the author illustrates her own experiences and those of countless ordinary people - our daily lives, fantasies, joys and pains. Though ordinary among millions of snails, we still resist, accept, enjoy, and discover in mundane life. Even as tiny beings in cosmic vastness, we exist, crawl forward, and bloom.

Wu Shiqi
Illustrator and picture book artist.
Notable works: Picture book "How Can a Snail Die?"; comics "Agua & Ada"; co-authored literary work "Ten Years of Correspondence Between Two Ordinary Women" (with Cactus Loves Water).
"Ten Years of Correspondence Between Two Ordinary Women" ranked No.9 in Douban's 2025 Annual Chinese Non-Fiction category!