The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Xu Zechen's Running Through Beijing, just out from Two Lines Press.
Pretty interesting that this only appears in English now -- and from relative small newcomer Two Lines Press: recall that five years ago, as China was 'guest of honour' at the Frankfurt Book Fair this was mentioned in some pretty prominent company, Steven Erlanger and Jonathan Ansfield writing in The New York Times how At Book Fair, a Subplot About Chinese Rights, mentioning it in one breath with:
Two Lines Press, with only a few titles under their belt, are definitely punching above their weight with a pretty impressive list of authors, as they have books by two prix Goncourt winners (Marie NDiaye, Jonathan Littell), and a forthcoming Nordic Council Literature Prize-winning title, Baboon by Naja Marie Aidt -- along with the Xu Zechen, hardly small potatoes either.
Pretty interesting that this only appears in English now -- and from relative small newcomer Two Lines Press: recall that five years ago, as China was 'guest of honour' at the Frankfurt Book Fair this was mentioned in some pretty prominent company, Steven Erlanger and Jonathan Ansfield writing in The New York Times how At Book Fair, a Subplot About Chinese Rights, mentioning it in one breath with:
Jiang Rong's Wolf Totem, Yu Hua's Brothers, and Xu Zechen's Running Through Zhongguancun.Wolf Totem and Brothers both got pretty big US/UK publishing deals; Xu's book did not. It did get published in German translation -- but Berlin Verlag also seem to have let it fall out print pretty (very ...) quickly. Now, finally, Xu's novel shows up in English.
Two Lines Press, with only a few titles under their belt, are definitely punching above their weight with a pretty impressive list of authors, as they have books by two prix Goncourt winners (Marie NDiaye, Jonathan Littell), and a forthcoming Nordic Council Literature Prize-winning title, Baboon by Naja Marie Aidt -- along with the Xu Zechen, hardly small potatoes either.