The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu

The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu
Translated by Ken Liu (Chinese)
Originally 2006, I read 2014 translation
415 pages, hard science fiction
Found: Barnes and Noble, West Chester, Ohio, USA

Caught up in the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, astrophysicist Ye Wenjie finds herself working for a secret government project after her father is brutally murdered for being an "intellectual." What should she do when she discovers the first sign of intelligent alien life?

In the present, Wang Miao is a researcher working on nanomaterials who is pulled into a secret government investigation of an international organization called the Frontiers of Science. Strange things begin happening - things that seemingly break the laws of physics. His one major lead is the online virtual reality game called Three Body, which seems to hold some of the answers he is searching for.

The scientific problem and the virtual world

Probably the most unique part of this book is the integration of virtual reality with the main storyline. While Wang Miao initially plays as part of the investigation, he soon becomes fascinated by the game for its own sake: it poses a complicated physics puzzle that appeals to his scientific mind.

Chutzpah! New Voices from China, edited by Ou Ning and Austin Woerner

Chutzpah! New Voices from China

Edited by Ou Ning and Austin Woerner
Translated from Chinese

2015, I read Advanced Review Copy

281 pages, short stories, non-fiction

Many thanks to the University of Oklahoma Press for providing a review copy of this book.

Chutzpah! was an innovative, short-lived Chinese literary journal. In the 16 issues published between 2011 and 2014, Chutzpah! brought writing by minorities and people from the margins of Chinese society - including Chinese-language writers from other countries. While the main magazine was in Chinese, every issue included an English-language supplement, "Peregrine," featuring translations of popular stories from previous issues. This collection, published by the University of Oklahoma Press, presents 16 pieces selected by the magazine's founding editor Ou Ning and English language editor Austin Woerner.

What made Chutzpah! special, both to Chinese readers and to Sinophiles abroad, was its focus on younger and lesser-known Chinese writers, its stylistic eclecticism, its broad definition of what constitutes "Chinese writing," and its independent voice - registered in the more liberal Guangdong province, and beholden to a media conglomerate rather than to a government sponsor, it was able to publish more adventurous work than other publications of its kind in China. - Preface

The works presented in English translation here reflect these characteristics of the magazine. Of the 16 works, there are 14 short stories, 1 creative nonfiction piece, and 1 essay, representing a variety of voices and styles. Because of this eclecticism, I have chosen to review each piece individually, with some overall comments at the end of this post.

• “A Brief History of Time” by Xu Zechen (China), translated by Eric Abrahamsen

When a man is trapped under a building during an earthquake, his soul travels into his past, revealing the actions and decisions that led him to become an alcoholic, depressed marketing representative.  

This story is a surprisingly hilarious take on a near-death experience, mostly because of the snarky comments of the main character as narrated by his friend. An example from the moment of the earthquake:

His last thoughts before he blacked out were: This is some booze. When it puts you down, the whole world comes rattling down with you.

According to Xu's biography, his work usually focuses on the less-fortunate classes of Chinese society. I greatly enjoyed his simple, wry humor, and would happily read more of his writing.

Read Xu Zechen's short story "Galloping Horses." 

My Life as Emperor by Su Tong, translated by Howard Goldblatt

My Life as Emperor
Su Tong
Translated by Howard Goldblatt (Chinese)
Originally published 1992, I read 2006 paperback
290 pages, historical fiction
Found: Half Price Books, Hamilton, OH, USA

After his father's death, the fifth son, 14-year-old Duanbai, is unexpectedly declared to be the new Xie Emperor. Unprepared for his new duties and still a child, Duanbai's actions are controlled by his powerful mother and grandmother; when he makes decisions himself, his inexperience leads him to abuse his power, and he becomes a cold and cruel ruler who is feared by the people around him.

I saw this book on the $1 clearance rack at Half Price Books right after I had finished reading Howard Goldblatt's beautiful translation of Nobel Prize-winner Mo Yan's Frog. Since I was on a bit of a Chinese kick at that time, and since I adored Goldblatt's translation style, I spent the dollar hoping that I would enjoy this book as well - not that I had actually been all that interested in the summary on the back cover. So after taking it with me to India and then to Bangladesh, I finally picked it up from the To-Be-Read stack. The good news: it's a quick read. The bad news: I hated it.

The Last Lover by Can Xue, translated by Annelise Finegan

Source: Goodreads

The Last Lover
Can Xue
Translated by Annelise Finegan (from Chinese)
2014, I read Kindle edition
336 pages, avant-garde (?)

This book traces the (possibly) intersecting lives and stories of a group of people who are related through work: a man who just wants to disappear into books, his maybe-magical wife, his gardener son; his cheating boss and his boss's distraught wife; a client who owns a rubber plantation and his lover, and so on. As the book goes on, their stories become more and more confused and begin to run together until everything seems unreal.

I did not understand or like this book, and I was surprised that it was nominated for the 2015 IFFP. According to the Goodreads ratings and the opinions of the other Shadow Panelists, it seems that people either really like this book or they really don't. I would be one of the latter. I kept expecting someone to wake up and have the whole thing be a complicated dream, but no such luck. I was just as confused after reading the whole thing as I was at the beginning. I get that this is (probably?) the point, but it's not something that I enjoy.


Something that bothered me was the weird Orientalism present throughout the book. While the main characters are all from some unnamed Western country, the knowledge that they hope to find comes from the East. This includes the ending when all (?) of the characters wind up traveling throughout the East looking for some sort of knowledge (?). There is also a strange woman who apparently sleeps with all (?) the male characters and who is apparently from some sort of Oriental country. I was surprised to see this weird Orientalism in a Chinese novel. Maybe it's satirical? Since I didn't understand the book, maybe I also didn't understand the satire? It would be great if someone could explain it to me.

All and all, something that you might like if you're interested in really dreamy, avant-garde, far out stuff. Not something I am interested in at all. But one of the other Shadow Panelists mentioned that the author's short stories are good, so maybe I'll see if I like those better at some point.

Further Reading

An interview with Can Xue from Asymptote Journal 

Read Can Xue's short story "Red Leaves" from Belletrista

The Last Lover can be purchased from Amazon or wherever books are sold. A sample is available from Amazon here. 

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The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan, Translated by Howard Goldblatt

Source: Goodreads

The Garlic Ballads
Mo Yan
Translated by Howard Goldblatt (from Chinese)
Originally 1988, I read Arcade 2012
286 pages, satire, romance, prison story

The farmers in Paradise County are normal, law-abiding citizens under the Chinese communist regime. They follow the government's orders to plant a bumper crop of garlic, only to end up with piles of unsellable rotting crops as warehouses fill up and prices drop precipitously. When the government does nothing to help the crowds of farmers struggling to move their goods anywhere but back home, the ordinary citizens are forced to take extreme measures to see that something will get done.

Among the farmers watching their carefully-tended crops rot in their fields are a collection of very human characters: parents trying to arrange marriages for their children; their daughter who is in love with another man; and a neighbor whose landowning family history makes him an immediate suspect for any crime.

Mo Yan's novel, which was banned in China after the 1989 Tiananmen square protests, paints a vivid portrait of the common man's daily struggle for survival under an uncaring, corrupt, and draconian regime.

Buy from Amazon:

The Garlic Ballads: A Novel

Frog by Mo Yan, Translated by Howard Goldblatt

Source: Goodreads

Frog
Mo Yan
Translated by Howard Goldblatt (from Chinese)
2015, I read an advanced review copy
389 pages, historical fiction, psychological, epistolic

Thank you to the Goodreads Firstreads program, through which I had the opportunity to read a free advanced review copy of this book. 

Tadpole, a Chinese playwright, is working on a play about the emotional fallout of the Cultural Revolution and the enforcement of the One-Child Policy. To organize his ideas, he writes a series of letters to his Japanese sensei describing his childhood memories and family stories. He focuses on the position of his aunt Gugu in their village community. A talented obstetrician, she was initially loved for her ability to save mothers' lives with new, modern medical techniques, but later she becomes the local face of the family planning commission. The novel, and Tadpole's play that is included at the end, explore the complexities of the political, moral, and medical situation created by the family planning policies of the Chinese state.

Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012.

Read a sample: 

Aunty's wedding plans

Buy from Amazon: 

Frog: A Novel