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Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Welcome to the Reading Chinese Book Review Network, a collaboration between Writing Chinese and our partners at Penguin China and Balestier Press. Reviewers who join the network receive a copy of selected titles, and you can read their reviews by clicking on the images below. (Please note that we are only able to send out e-copies of books at the present time.)

If you are interested in applying to join this network as a reviewer, click here for the application form. And to get you started with writing reviews of translated fiction, you can read some tips from leading translator Nicky Harman on our blog here.

If you are a publisher interested in partnering us in this part of the project, please contact us at writingchinese@leeds.ac.uk for more details! And if you are a school interested in setting up a school bookclub, please see our Schools page for more details, and to read reviews of books for young people.

NEW: If you ever wonder how the reception of books in translation compare with those of the original, click here for reviews translated from Chinese.

Dinner for Six, by Lu Min

translated by Nicky Harman and Helen Wang

(Balestier Press, 2023)

Book of Beijing, by various authors

Edited by Shi Bingbing
Various authors and translators

(Comma Press, 2023)

Ghost Town, by Kevin Chen

translated by Darryl Sterk

(Europa Editions, 2023)

Cocoon, by Zhang Yueran

translated by Jeremy Tiang

(World Editions, 2023)

The Borrowed, by Chan Ho-kei

translated by Jeremy Tiang

(Head of Zeus, 2018)

Sons of Red Lake, by Zhou Daxin

translated by Haiwang Yuan and Thomas Bray

(Sinoist Books, 2022)

A Catalog of Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On, by Dung Kai-cheung

translated by Bonnie S. McDougall and Anders Hansson

(Columbia Press, 2022)

Faraway, by Lo Yi-chin

translated by Jeremy Tiang

(Columbia Press, 2021)

Hunter School, by Sakinu Ahronglong

translated by Darryl Sterk

(Honford Star, 2020)

Selected Stories, by Xue Mo (Audiobook)

translated by Nicky Harman
read by Sarah Lam

(Beijing Ruxue Media and Sodalite Productions, 2021)

Whisper, by Chang Yu-ko

translated by Roddy Flagg

(Honford Star, 2021)

Stories of the Sahara, by Sanmao

translated by Mike Fu

(Bloomsbury, 2020)

The Membranes, by Chi Ta-wei

translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich

(Columbia University Press, 2021)

Crystal Wedding by Xu Xiaobin

translated by Nicky Harman

(Balestier Press, 2016)

Distant Sunflower Fields, by Li Juan

translated by Christopher Payne

(Sinoist Books, 2021)

More than One Child, by Shen Yang

translated by Nicky Harman

(Balestier Press, 2021)

I Live in the Slums, by Can Xue

translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping

(Yale University Press, 2020)

A Hero Born: Legends of the Condor Heroes, by Jin Yong

translated by Anna Holmwood

(MacLehose Press, 2020)

Second Sister, by Chan Ho-kei

translated by Jeremy Tiang

(Head of Zeus, 2020)

That We May Live, Natascha Bruce and Jeremy Tiang (eds)

Various authors and translators

(Two Lines Press, 2020)

Shadow of the Hunter, by Su Tong

translated by James Trapp

(Sinoist Books, 2020)

In the Name of the People, by Zhou Meisen

translated by Emily Hein

(Sinoist Books, 2020)

A Perfect Crime, by A Yi

translated by Anna Holmwood

(Oneworld Publications, 2015)

The Debt Collector, by Wang Shou

translated by John Frederick Franz

(Penguin Classics, 2020)

The Book of Shanghai, by Dai Congrong and Jin Li (eds.)

Various authors and translators

(Comma Press, 2020)

Faces in the Crowd by Feng Jicai

translated by Olivia Milburn

(Sinoist Books, ACA, 2020)

The Postman by Bi Yu

translated by Jesse Field

(Penguin, 2019)

Life by Lu Yao

translated by Chloe Estep

(Amazon Crossing, 2019)

Broken Wings by Jia Pingwa

translated by Nicky Harman

(ACA Publishing Ltd, 2019)

Lotus by Lijia Zhang

(Henry Holt & Co, 2019)

The Road Home by Ai Wei

translated by Alice Xin Liu

(Penguin Specials, 2019)

The Handsome Monk by Tsering Dhondrup

translated by Christopher Peacock

(Columbia University Press, 2019)

My Travels in Ding Yi by Shi Tiesheng

translated by Alex Woodend

(ACA Publishing Ltd, 2018)

Goodnight, Rose by Chi Zijian

translated by Poppy Toland

(Penguin Specials, 2018)

Fleeing Xinhe Street

translated by Ana Padilla Fornieles

(Penguin, 2019)

Empires of Dust by Jiang Zilong

translated by Christopher Payne and Olivia Milburn

(ACA Publishing, 2019)

The Chilli Bean Paste Clan by Yan Ge

translated by Nicky Harman

(Balestier Press, 2018)

Wedding in Autumn and other stories

translated by Darryl Sterk

(Balestier Press, 2018)

Wild Fruit by Sheng Keyi

translated by Shelly Bryant

(Penguin Viking, 2019)

Lonely Face by Yeng Pway Ngon

translated by Natascha Bruce

(Balestier Press, 2019)

Petulia's Rouge Tin by Su Tong

Translated by Jane Weizhen Pan and Martin Merz

(Penguin Specials, 2018)

The Ventriloquist's Daughter by Lin Man-Chiu

Translated by Helen Wang

(Balestier Press 2017)

The Invisible Valley by Su Wei

Translated by Austin Woerner

(Small Beer Press 2018)

Young Babylon by Lu Nei

translated by Poppy Toland

(Balestier Press, 2015)

Cantonese Love Stories by Dung Kai-cheung

translated by Bonnie S. McDougall and Anders Hansson

(Penguin Specials, 2017)

Confessions of a Jade Lord by Alat Asem

translated by Bruce Humes and Jun Liu

(Aurora Publishing LLC, 2017)

Unrest by Yeng Pway Ngon

translated by Jeremy Tiang

(Balestier Press, 2017)

The Kite Family by Hon Lai-chu

translated by Andrea Lingenfelter

(East Slope Publishing, 2015)

Northern Girls by Sheng Keyi

translated by Shelly Bryant

(Penguin, 2015)

The Rainbow of Time by Jimmy Liao

translated by Wang Xinlin and Andrea Lingenfelter

(Balestier Press, 2018)

The Civil Servant's Notebook by Wang Xiaofang

translated by Eric Abrahamsen

(Viking, 2015)

Massage by Bi Feiyu

translated by Howard Goldblatt

(Penguin China 2016)

Masked Dolls by Shih Chiung-Yu

translated by Wang Xinlin and Poppy Toland

(Balestier Press, 2016)

Marrow by Yan Lianke

translated by Carlos Rojas

(Penguin China, 2015)

The Tree Fort on Carnation Lane by Horace Ho

translated by Darryl Sterk

(Balestier Press, 2017)

As Flowers Bloom and Wither by Chang Ying-tai

translated by Florence Woo

(Balestier, 2017)

Flock of Brown Birds by Ge Fei

translated by Poppy Toland

(Penguin China, 2016)

Again I see the Gaillardias by Li Tong

translated by Brandon Yen

(Balestier Press, 2016)

Radish by Mo Yan

translated by Howard Goldblatt

(Penguin, 2015)

Happy Dreams by Jia Pingwa

translated by Nicky Harman

(Amazon Crossing, 2017)

Mastiffs of the Plateau by Yang Zhijun

translated by Jiang Lin

(ACA Publishing Ltd, 2018)

The Pidgin Warrior by Zhang Tianyi

translated by David Hull

(Balestier Press, 2017)

State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang

(Epigram Books, 2017)