Garlic Ballads, The

The peasants of Paradise County in China have been eking out an existence virtually unchanged for hundreds of years, until a glut on the garlic market forces them to watch the crop that is their lifeblood wilt, rot and blacken in the fields - leading them to storm the seat of corrupt Communist officialdom in an apocalyptic riot. Against this heroic backdrop unfold three intricately interwoven tales of love, loyalty and retribution: between man and woman, father and child, friend and friend. Banned in China following Tianamen Square, 'The Garlic Ballads' is a bawdy, mystical and brawling novel that portrays a landscape at once strange and utterly compelling, and a people whose fierce passions overflow the rigid confines of their traditions. Review: "* 'Mo Yan deserves a place in world literature... His voice will find its way into the heart of the reader, just as Kundera and Garcia Marquez have' - Amy Tan * 'If I were to choose a Nobel laureate, it would be Mo Yan' - Kenzaburo Oe, 1994 Nobel Laureate for Literature * 'Raw, brilliant, eventful... A tale full of seething vitality' - New York Times" Author Biography: Mo Yan was born in 1956 and is a native of Shandong, China. The author of several novels including Red Sorghum (made into the internationally acclaimed feature film), dozens of novellas, and numerous short stories, he has won virtually every national literary prize and is the most highly praised Chinese writer of his generation. Mo Yan's story collection 'Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh' and his most recent novel 'Big Breasts and Wide Hips' are also available from Methuen.