Mo Yan

Mo Yan first came to my attention (as most likely many others, even if they won't admit it) when he was awarded to Nobel Prize for Literature in October. He is a Chinese author, who has had some books translated into English, but apparently not enough to become as big as other Eastern writers, such as Murakami (who many were disappointed got snubbed for the prize). But now he almost seems inescapable. Particualarly today there have been a few pieces I've stumbled upon, as he gave his acceptance to the prize earlier on.

To get yourself acquainted with him, here is a piece called "Bull," which is excerpted from the forthcoming novel Pow! It was published in China in 2003, but just now being translated into English. For a more behind the scenes take, here's an interview the New Yorker did with the translator Howard Goldblatt.

(tangent: Yan teaming up with Goldblatt reminds me of this article: Oh, To Be Jewish in China)

As for the articles of today:

Salman Rushdie calls out Mo Yan as a "patsy of the regime."

Beijing Cream comes in with two. They shared an essay by Anna Sun (looking into relation with Walk The Moon's Anna Sun) on his "diseased language." There is also this Red Sorghum flashmob in a strip mall in Stockholm.

I haven't read any full novels by him yet, but Pow! is certainly on my list when it's released next year.