Americanreader
Well-known member
Does anyone have any experience reading Yan Lianke, the Chinese writer? I’m thinking about picking up one of his books for the new year, but I’m not sure which is good to read first.
Yan Lianke
- Thread starter Americanreader
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Stevie B
Current Member
I enjoyed Dream of Ding Village, but I think I'm in the minority with that opinion. I recall 2-3 other Forum members that weren't as positive about the novel. By the way, it looks like Lianke has a family memoir that will be published in several months.
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Ben Jackson
Well-known member
Liable works are noted for bledning satire with magic-realism. His works are intended to depict "Chinese reality" and most of his works are set in Balou Mountains, his fictional creation similar to Faulkner's Yoknapatwapha and Marquez's Macondo. His essays range from his experience as a writer to his views on 19th and 20th Century fiction. It's believed that he has been shortlisted for the Nobel in the last seven to eight years and is one of ye greatest living novelists. His works in the early stages of his career were noted for realists approach, but went more experimental in the early years of this century. His key works which I also plan to read: Explosion Chronicles, Serve the People, Lenin's Kisses, Dream of Ding Village, Three Brothers, Discovery Fiction, New Discovery of Fiction, Twelve Lectures on 19th Century and 20th Century and his latest novel Heart Sutra. Influences include Faulkner, Lu Xun, Kafka, Marquez, Schulz, Gombrowicz.
Bartleby
Moderator
An interesting text written by the author, and adapted from an upcoming book of essays, dealing with the issue of writing in (and about) China today.
www.theparisreview.org
On the Distinctiveness of Writing in China
“People’s spirits resemble a patch of grass struggling to grow in the intermittently light and dark area beneath partially open and partially closed windows.”
www.theparisreview.org