Su Tong - Böcker

From the author of Wives and Concubines (titled Raise the Red Lantern in the acclaimed 1991 Oscar-nominated film by Zhang Yimou), Rice and many other major works of contemporary Chinese fiction comes a new collection of novellas that ranges from mystery in swinging prewar Shanghai to the violent gangs of the Cultural Revolution.In The Gardener’s Art, a family dispute ends in the disappearance of a wealthy dentist. As his wife and children plunge into crisis and suspicion, the clues of the case lead them into Shanghai’s seamy side. A brilliant evocation of a vanished pre-Communist time, in all its glamor and squalor.A Divorce Handbook is the bitterly funny tale of a man, unhappy in marriage, who comes up against the inflexible attitudes of a traditional society. One of the most perceptive works to chart China’s shifting social mores.In Tattoo, a lame adolescent is marked by the death of his brother in gang warfare. Overcoming his injuries through the practice of martial arts, he seeks to revive the flagging fortunes of his gang, but must face treachery and contempt at every turn.This volume by Su Tong demonstrates his mastery of the full sweep of twentieth-century China.

The people of China tell of an ancient tale, where the mantis hunts the cicada, unaware of the yellow bird behind it. In a small corner of one of its many cities, a random act of violence sets off a spinning top, entwining the lives of three people.Baorun, the compulsive bondage expert, is forever aided and abetted by Liu Sheng, a brash troublemaker, to indulge in his obsessions; and the lady Fairy Princess, ever-youthful, becomes the target of the pair’s escalating antics.As the years pass, many things begin to change, but in the dysfunctional world of a mental hospital at the end of Red Toon Street, just who is prey, and who is predator?Often insightful and occasionally unsettling, Shadow of the Hunter is a memorable tale concerned with guilt, injustice, madness and the struggle not to lose one’s soul to history. It is one of Su Tong’s most acclaimed works, now available in English for the first time.

Qianmei’s cancer is terminal, and everyone except her knows it.She’s spent a lifetime Serving the People by penning a slew of complaints to superiors about the failings of colleagues and neighbours, no matter how small. Being confined to bed rest in a hospital just presents new targets.As her family and doctors work on articulating the bad news, our principled comrade is visited by the victims of past petitions. Faced with the consequences of her words, does she now regret writing them? After all, regardless of how many letters might have reached the higher powers, there’s always time to make amends, right?Missives from the Masses opens award-winning author Su Tong’s newest collection of short stories. From the girl in the window on bustling Mahogany Road to the unloved undertaker with seemingly cursed hands, these are darkly humorous and strange accounts of the hidden lives eked out during China's turbulent economic rise.

A raw deal can leave you dead in the water*The life of a country bumpkin is worth no more than a melon?The boat-dwellers upriver have been punting watermelons down to the market by Tiexing bridge for as long as the townsfolk can remember. A precarious relationship at the best of times, things quickly turn sour when a peddler turns up dead, prompting a pitched battle between fruit vendors and their urban clients.In the uneasy peace that follows, a forlorn, elderly mother looks to sail their family's livelihood home. But after the pandemonium, no one is sure where her dead son’s barge ended up. How much help can she expect from a town still reeling from rioting and mass arrests?Cruelty and kindness are interwoven in award-winning writer Su Tong’s new collection of short stories, written in a characteristically surreal mode that is both nightmarish and lyrical, reminiscent of a bad dream yet also joyful and hopeful.

The people of China tell of an ancient tale, where the mantis hunts the cicada, unaware of the yellow bird behind it. In a small corner of one of its many cities, a random act of violence sets off a spinning top, entwining the lives of three people.Baorun, the compulsive bondage expert, is forever aided and abetted by Liu Sheng, a brash troublemaker, to indulge in his obsessions; and the lady Fairy Princess, ever-youthful, becomes the target of the pair’s escalating antics.As the years pass, many things begin to change, but in the dysfunctional world of a mental hospital at the end of Red Toon Street, just who is prey, and who is predator?Often insightful and occasionally unsettling, Shadow of the Hunter is a memorable tale concerned with guilt, injustice, madness and the struggle not to lose one’s soul to history. It is one of Su Tong’s most acclaimed works, now available in English for the first time.

This anthology gathers in two volumes either the representative works or the highly recognized pieces of some of the most famous writers of contemporary China. All the works translated here speak to the commonality of human nature and human life, i.e., man's happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy, despite the vastly different approaches and perspectives toward literature. With their succinct style, exquisite structure, and typical characters and events, these stories constitute an extremely important and integral part of the treasure house of contemporary Chinese literature. For anyone who might be interested in Chinese culture and literature, Chinese-English translation, comparative literature, and comparative studies between Chinese and Western cultures may find their own rewards in reading these stories.