Summary
The five major religions collide in an exploration of spirituality and gender fluidity in a novel imbued with celebrated Chinese author Yan Lianke’s distinctive wit and humour.
The Heart Sutra is the most mysterious scripture in Chinese Buddhism. In Yan Lianke’s new novel, disciples of China’s five main religions—Buddhism, Daoism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam—gather for a year at the Religious Training Centre of Beijing’s National Politics University. They live together, stud…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781922790132 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1922790133 |
| Author: | Yan Lianke |
| Publisher: | Text Publishing |
| Imprint: | The Text Publishing Company |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 416 |
| Release Date: | 14 March 2023 |
| Weight: | 518g |
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Critics Review
‘One of those rare geniuses who finds in the peculiar absurdities of his own culture the absurdities that infect all cultures.’
‘One of those rare geniuses who finds in the peculiar absurdities of his own culture the absurdities that infect all cultures.’ * Washington Post *
‘Yan Lianke speaks to the agitation and absurdity of human existence, and the unquenchable need to believe in a cause greater than ourselves.’ * Jessie Au, author of Cold Enough for Snow *
‘Picaresque, but with serious matters of faith, love, and political wrangling at its fast-beating heart.’ * Kirkus Reviews *
‘Intriguing satire…[Yan Lianke’s] barbs against organised religion frequently hit their targets…[T]here is plenty to admire.’ * Booklist *
‘Heart Sutra is a warm-hearted, if not gentle, satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith itself…by its end, it has moved through absurdity, darkness, and body horror into a strange and flickering form of hope…a deeply satisfying read…Yan’s storytelling has a luminous, irrepressible quality…in its darkness, it shines.’ * NPR *
‘Extremely intriguing…Glimpses of early Salman Rushdie.’ * RNZ: Nine to Noon *
‘In the realm of Olga Tokarczuk…There are a lot of things that I really love about this book.’ * 95bFM Loose Reads *
‘Complex and multi-layered; simultaneously a love story, a commentary on contemporary China, and a satire…Lianke’s writing is lush, surreal, and not afraid to laugh at the absurdity of existence. He excels in creating a highly sensual world in which weather, food, and surroundings have a life of their own and divine beings may appear at any moment.’ * Otago Daily Times *
‘Picaresque, but with serious matters of faith, love, and political wrangling at its fast-beating heart.’ * Kirkus (starred review) *
Yan Lianke
Yan Lianke has been called a ‘master of imaginative satire’ and named ‘one of China’s most successful fiction writers’ by the New York Times. His satirical stories with often sensitive subjects have led to the banning of some of his works, including his novella Serve the People and the novel Dream of Ding Village. Yan’s surrealist writing oscillates between military themes and the Chinese countryside, which lend the often absurdly miserable living conditions of rural life an equally surreal setting.
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