Logo image
  • BookDragon
  • About
  • The Blogger
  • Review Policy
  • Smithsonian APAC
 
10291
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-10291,single-format-standard,stardust-core-1.1,stardust-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,stardust-theme-ver-3.1,ajax_updown_fade,page_not_loaded,smooth_scroll

BookDragon Blog

15 Oct / Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke, translated by Cindy Carter [in Library Journal]

DreamOfDingHCmech_Layout 1Censored in China, the latest novel in English translation from Yan Lianke (Serve the People!) is a brutal morality tale of a country undergoing transition; the citizens are mere “dogs, or chickens, or ants crushed underfoot” in a larger-than-life tragedy. China’s plan to fill its blood banks reaches the poorest villages where “bloodheads” convince desperate citizens to open their veins for quick cash.

In the village named for his ancestors, Ding Hui becomes reigning bloodhead: his unsanitary practices eventually infect the villagers with “the fever” – HIV/AIDS. Because Hui is unrepentantly on to the next get-richer scheme, his 12-year-old son is murdered in retaliation; the boy omnisciently narrates from his school-side grave. Hui’s brother, Liang, becomes infected, and desperately seeks one last chance at happiness. Hui’s father, defacto village leader – and prescient dreamer – bears the guilt of Hui’s avarice and Liang’s disgrace.

Verdict: Yan’s three years of clandestine research on this widespread real-life blood-selling scandal provides another grim spotlight on China’s abuses. Like his literary contemporaries, Mo Yan and Yu Hua, Yan’s unflinching irreverence makes this Schadenfreude tragedy essential reading.

Review: “Fiction,” Library Journal, October 15, 2010

Readers: Adult

Published: 2011 (United States)

By Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Chinese, Fiction, Repost, Translation Tags > Betrayal, BookDragon, Cindy Carter, Cultural exploration, Death, Dream of Ding Village, Family, Haves vs. have-nots, Illness, Library Journal, Politics, Yan Lianke
2 Comments
  • Pingback:Lenin’s Kisses by Yan Lianke, translated by Carlos Rojas | BookDragon Reply
  • Pingback:Lenin's Kisses by Yan Lianke, translated by Carlos Rojas [in Library Journal] | BookDragon Reply

Post a Comment
Cancel Reply

Smithsonian Institution
Asian Pacific American Center

Capital Gallery, Suite 7065
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024

202.633.2691 | APAC@si.edu

Additional contact info

Mailing Address
Capital Gallery
Suite 7065, MRC: 516
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012

Fax: 202.633.2699

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

SmithsonianAPA brings Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture to you through innovative museum experiences and digital initiatives.

About BookDragon

Welcome to BookDragon, filled with titles for the diverse reader. BookDragon is a new media initiative of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), and serves as a forum for those interested in learning more about the Asian Pacific American experience through literature. BookDragon is inhabited by Terry Hong.

Learn More

Contact BookDragon

Please email us at SIBookDragon@gmail.com

Follow BookDragon!
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Looking for Something Else …?

or