Thursday evening, and #translationthurs has rolled around again on Twitter, so it's time for my second round-up of books from the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize longlist. Today we're off to the far east for a story told from beyond the grave - I hope you're not afraid of ghosts...
*****
Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke (translated by Cindy Carter)
What's it all about?
Dream of Ding Village is a fascinating novel, set in a small Chinese village in the countryside, and narrated by a corpse. Our deceased friend, a boy who was poisoned by angry villagers, tells us of the plight facing his hometown because of a mania for selling blood. His father, a rather nasty, grasping entrepreneur, got rich by convincing his fellow villagers to sell their blood - and by skimping on the hygiene while he was at it. Now, a decade on, AIDS ('the fever') has broken out in the Chinese provinces, and the villagers are beginning to pay the real price for their past actions...The main character is Grandpa, also called Professor, the patriarch of the Ding family and a retired teacher of sorts. Attempting to make up for the role his elder son played in the misfortunes of the village, he decides to house all the sick inside the school, creating a kind of commune in which those who are destined to die can live out their days in comfort. Unfortunately, human nature proves to be too strong for community spirit to triumph over: Grandpa's noble efforts are doomed to failure as his dream descends into selfish egotism...
The extent to which the selfish villagers will sink to is frightening. Several attempt to cheat the group out of their share of food by putting rocks in the bags of rice and flour they are required to donate. A local youth with the fever arranges to marry an uninfected woman from a neighbouring town, and the village is sworn to secrecy. And the trees - don't get me started on the trees...
Dream of Ding Village is not for the squeamish - there is a lot of talk of blood and rotting flesh -, but there are some bright spots. The blossoming romance between Grandpa Ding's younger son and a fellow AIDS sufferer shows that there is a positive side to the live-for-the-moment feeling which has swept the community. On the whole, however, it is a rather bleak picture of a serious subject, one which doesn't paint Chinese society in a favourable light. Perhaps then it's not that surprising that it was banned in mainland China...
Do you think it deserves to make the shortlist?
Possibly... It's a good book, but I'm not sure it's good enough to be one of the main contenders. The translation was alright, but nothing special - the dialogue, especially, was a little stilted at times, a problem which often arises when the very different Asian forms of address are put into English. It will depend a lot on the books I haven't read yet, so if I like a lot of the others, this is one which will probably miss the cut.
Will it make the shortlist?
Again, possibly. Most of what I've heard from other people has been positive, and I have a feeling that people would like to see a non-European book on the shortlist. I think this may be one which will be mid-table and pushing for that final spot on the list.
Will it make the shortlist?
Again, possibly. Most of what I've heard from other people has been positive, and I have a feeling that people would like to see a non-European book on the shortlist. I think this may be one which will be mid-table and pushing for that final spot on the list.
Join me again on Sunday, when we will be leaving Asia and heading back to Europe. Just a warning - it might be a bit chilly...
