As published last year, here again is a choice of ten chinese novels for your summer, recently published (in France ) as paperbacks and easy to find.The choice of novels of more than 300 pages has been limited to two books, as some readers shy away.
Only writers and books which came under review last year have been selected.
– Diane Wei Liang: The eye of … Lire la suite
The writer and poet Liao Yiwu was unable to attend last September the Frankfurt Book Fair; a few days ago, he could not leave Chengdu to fly to the Literary Festival in Cologne. In short, he never could get out of China !
Born in 1958, he narrowly escaped death during the famine of the Great Leap Forward then the Cultural Revolution led to the breakdown of his family: his father, a teacher, was prosecuted, … Lire la suite
“Frogs” by Mo Yan did not receive the Dangdai award. The short list included all the books people are talking about in Beijing : the novels by A-Lai, Su Tong, Zhang Ling. Liu Zhenyun won the prize with “A Word Is Worth a Thousand Words. “after being 
the winner in 2007 with ” My name is Liu Yuejin “.
Liu Zhenyun was fortunate to have Sebastian Veg (1) as a translator for two books published … Lire la suite
If you like Mo Yan, cheer up. As was told during his interview to Rue89 (30/08/2009), his novel “Frogs” has just been published in Beijing. “Frogs”, “Wa” in Chinese is pronounced like Nu Wa, goddess in Chinese mythology who created humanity, more over the frog in some provinces is the symbol of fertility.
As he said in an interview with China Daily (01/08/2010), it is a novel about his aunt, now 76 years old, who … Lire la suite
Much has been said on this writer in recent weeks. His first book, “There’s nothing I can do when I think of you late at night” was published, six months ago, in the prestigious Asian collection at the University of Columbia. The book is part of the “long 
list” of best translations prepared by the University of Rochester but did not win a prize.
A collection of short stories has been translated into Swedish by … Lire la suite
Zhang Chengzhi recently published “In the ruins of an outbreak: Travel in Al-Andalus, the Islamic Spain which enjoyed a brilliant civilization from the 8th to the 15th century. This book, which is not translated, is presented in details by Bruce Humes (1).
Zhang, after six trips to Andalusia, Morocco, Portugal, delivers a very personal book illustrated with photos and drawings, stories of his travels but also study of the relationship between Moors and China, the … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89, 1/7/2010
Lu Xun, the “giant” of Chinese literature before the Revolution, makes the headlines in publishing: translations of high quality in France (by Sebastian Veg) and England (by Julia Lovell) and even a graphic novel about Ah-Q, his most famous short story (Editions Elytis).
From tradition to challenge:
Lu Xun was born in 1881 in Shaoxing, a beautiful city south of Shanghai, famous for its yellow wine. A family of … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89, 29/5/2010.
A childhood in a work camp, in love and activist in Beijing University during the “events” in Tiananmen Square in 1989. After graduating in psychology, Diane Wei Liang left China for an American university and a management consultant career. Now a mother, she lives in London, and has published two detective novels; the second, ” Paper Butterfly,” has just been translated into French.
“A lake with no name: the English … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89, 05/07/2010.
Pollution by green algae is no promotion for tourism. This is true for some beaches in France,in Brittany, but also for Lake Tai. Only one hour by train from Shanghai, it is unlikely to be part of the tours offered to visitors of the Expo. This is what tells us the latest novel by Qiu Xiaolong, the master of the Chinese detective story.
The city of Wuxi, north of … Lire la suite
We have already mentioned the talent of the Chinese-American author Li Yiyun in a post mentioning a film based on one of her short stories (“A Thousand Years of Good Prayers”). We have been able to meet her in Paris during the launch of her novel “A beautiful spring day.”
From Beijing to San Francisco from immunology to literature
Born in Beijing, Yiyun Li is 38 years. After studying Mathematics and English, she enrolled at … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89, 7/4/2010.
Invited to attend last march the Paris book fair : the Chinese writer Yan Lianke, who is well known to readers of Rue89. Yan Lianke is 52, he was born into an illiterate peasant family in the western Henan province. A career in the Army allows him to escape a life as a farmer and provided a university education. His books brought him as many literary prizes as problems with … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89 23/3/2010
Only the “Little Red Book” by Mao Zedong has scored better; the “Wolf Totem” by Jiang Rong is the biggest publishing succes in China: 4 millions copies have been sold and probably 16 millions including piracy.
Two years ago, Rue89 had presented this social phenomenon. The success has not stopped since 2004, the book still tops sales. The rights were purchased in 28 countries. For English, 100,000 dollars were paid … Lire la suite
Originally published on Rue89, 23/3/2010.
The recent election debates in France and the results bring us back to a book written more than 2000 years ago, the translation of which has been released by Editions “Les Belles Lettres. “The Dispute over salt and iron” is a Chinese text astonishingly modern on governance that many politicians should read !
Judge by yourself with a few quotes:
“Now you pretend that you take from the rich to