Yan Lianke.[File photo]

2 The Chronicles of Zhalie

By Yan Lianke

The Chronicles of Zhalie.[File photo]

To veteran critic Chen Xiaoming with Peking University, Yan Lianke’s new novel hit the country’s literary scene with a bang. “It’s powerful and intense,” Chen says. Written innovatively in the form of a local chronicle (usually with nonfictional introductions on history, geography, culture and industries), the metaphoric novel narrates a crazy story about how the small village of Zhalie turns into a big city through sinful ways like thievery and prostitution and how its people view the world and themselves.