A FINALIST FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
Deep within the Balou mountains lies a small rural town populated by disabled people. Blind, deaf and disfigured, the 197 citizens of the Village of Liven have until now enjoyed a peaceful, mutually supportive life out of sight and mind of the government. But when an unseasonal snowstorm wipes out that year's crops, a county official dreams up a scheme that will raise money for the district and boost his career.
He convinces the villagers to set up a travelling freak-show, to include Blind Tonghua's Acute Listening Act and Deafman Ma's Firecrackers-on-the-Ear. With the money, he intends to buy Lenin's embalmed corpse from an ailing Russia and install it in a splendid mausoleum in the mountains to attract tourism to this sleepy district. However, as we all know, even the best intentions can go awry.
| ISBN: | 9780099569480 |
| Publication date: | 3rd October 2013 |
| Author: | Lianke Yan |
| Publisher: | Vintage an imprint of Random House |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 512 pages |
| Genres: |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction Narrative theme: Social issues |