Chinese (mandarin) novels tend to
employ a much more subtle poetic style that makes you reflect
alot.. They tend to use a few words that have deep/many meanings -
for example, many expressions used in Chinese can only be fully
understood/appreciated with a deeper knowledge in Chinese culture
and history..
Also the Chinese verb form does not have a well defined past,
present or future tense. In writing or in speaking, the Chinese
verb in the sentence does not necessarily inform the reader or
listener as to whether they are referring to the past, present or
future.
English novels, on the other hand, are quite different.. they tend
to use many more words to portray situations/feelings .. it's a
more musical, outwardly expressive language and employs alot of
imagery - using personification, similes, metaphors and so
on.
Unlike the chinese verb form, english *does* have a pretty well
defined past, present and future tense.
Hope this helped some 
