At Paper Republic Bruce Humes raises a question that I've often wondered about -- how: Jia Pingwa: Popularity in China Contrasts with Low Profile in Translation.
Back in my Nobel-preview in 2010 (the year Mario Vargas Llosa won) I suggested there were three possible Chinese contenders (none of whom figured on the betting sheets at the time) -- and I maintained Jia would be: "the likeliest of the Chinese choices":. (My other two candidates ? Wang Meng and 2012 laureate Mo Yan (who: "would appear to be the strongest Chinese candidate"). Not bad speculation, I have to say.)
Of course, I've been on the Jia bandwagon for a while -- imagining back in 2008 of yet another of his prize-winning books: "maybe this will make it into English sometime (relatively) soon". Yeah, not yet.
It really is odd -- though some of the commenters to Humes' short piece suggest some reasons.
Back in my Nobel-preview in 2010 (the year Mario Vargas Llosa won) I suggested there were three possible Chinese contenders (none of whom figured on the betting sheets at the time) -- and I maintained Jia would be: "the likeliest of the Chinese choices":. (My other two candidates ? Wang Meng and 2012 laureate Mo Yan (who: "would appear to be the strongest Chinese candidate"). Not bad speculation, I have to say.)
Of course, I've been on the Jia bandwagon for a while -- imagining back in 2008 of yet another of his prize-winning books: "maybe this will make it into English sometime (relatively) soon". Yeah, not yet.
It really is odd -- though some of the commenters to Humes' short piece suggest some reasons.