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Chinese Literature Reader’s Club [ December ]
Come join us this December as we read Su Tong’s Shadow of the Hunter and are joined by translator James Trapp.
About the Chinese Literature Reader’s Club
The Chinese Literature Reader’s Club is for everyone with an interest in reading works translated from Chinese. We primarily cover fiction and also often step into nature writing, memoir and anything we fancy. Whether you’ve never read a book from a Chinese author or you are a Chinese author, this is a space for you to come learn and talk with others about Chinese Literature.
In addition to a discussion, each book club event features a translator who works in Chinese; they bring their expertise on their books to open our conversation. We’re run by Sinoist Books who bring the best of Chinese fiction to English-speaking readers.
Our second book club meets on Friday 10th December at 18:30 GMT. We’re reading Shadow of the Hunter by Su Tong, translated by James Trapp. Purchase here [https://sinoistbooks.com/product/shadow-of-the-hunter/] with 10% off using the code CLRCUK10.
Please note that this session will be recorded for later rebroadcast on social media.
About the Book
The people of China tell of an ancient tale, where the mantis hunts the cicada, unaware of the yellow bird behind it. In a small corner of one of its many cities, a random act of violence sets off a spinning top, entwining the lives of three people.
Baorun, the compulsive bondage expert, is forever aided and abetted by Liu Sheng, a brash troublemaker, to indulge in his obsessions; and the lady Fairy Princess, ever-youthful, becomes the target of the pair’s escalating antics.
As the years pass, many things begin to change, but in the dysfunctional world of a mental hospital at the end of Red Toon Street, just who is prey, and who is predator?
Often insightful and occasionally unsettling, Shadow of the Hunter is a memorable tale concerned with guilt, injustice, madness and the struggle not to lose one’s soul to history. It is one of Su Tong’s most acclaimed works, now available in English for the first time.
Content warning: sexual violence.
If you’d like a taster before you buy or find yourself opening this too close to the date to read the whole book please find the first three chapters available to read here so you can get an idea of the style and content for discussion.
About the Translator
James Trapp has an honours degree in Chinese from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with special papers in pre-Han archaeology and early Buddhist sculpture. His translation works include new versions of Sunzi’s The Art of War and Laozi’s Daodejing, and, for Alain Charles Asia, Wang Hongjia’s Final Witness and Ma Pinglai’s The Elm Tree.
About the Author
Su Tong, internationally acclaimed author of Wives and Concubines, received the prestigious Mao Dun Literature Prize for Yellow Bird in 2015.
