这部小说，在其浓郁的地方色彩之中，反应了一个人心浮动的动荡时代，它描摹了一个轩然大波时代的众生面相，对于研究方言文学和记事文学都具有很高的价值。主要以1911年发生在四川的保路运动为背景，描绘了风起云涌的革命运动及其影响下的风俗民情，具有浓郁的乡土色彩。（The novel reflects a turbulent time with anxious minds amid the strong local color. It sketches various faces of the stirring age and is of high value for studying dialect literary and chronicle literary. Set against the background of Protection Movement in Sichuan in 1911, it depicts the swirling revolution and customs under its influence with a strong local color.）