Old Kiln

Jia Pingwa (Translated by Christopher Payne, James Trapp, Olivia Milburn)

One year can bury centuries of history

1966, China is on the cusp of a decade of upheaval, and the furnaces of Old Kiln have never been this cold. The village’s once-famed ceramics production has almost ground to a halt. Only ancient grudges smoulder beneath its poverty-stricken streets, never forgotten by the two families that preside over the village. Between them stands the adopted Inkcap, whose mysterious origins leave him unloved and barely tolerated.

When the faraway capital demands a purer party line, the directive trickles down to this hinterland and revolutionary factions form. Clashing visions for a new future unravel the tight-knit community along old clan lines.

Inkcap’s gift for communicating with the natural world gives him solace, and a unique perspective in witnessing the violence punctuating daily existence. As fervour mutates into ways of settling scores, being an outcast might just save him – but for the shattered families, can the pieces be put together again?