Chairman Mao Would Not Be Amused

Stories by Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan, Booker Prize winner Su Tong, and more: Takes readers into worlds the Chinese government has long tried to hide.-The Washington Post Book WorldIn contrast to the utopian official literature of Communist China, the stories in this wide-ranging collection marshal wry humor, entangled sex, urban alienation, nasty village politics and frequent violence...'The Brothers Shu,' by Su Tong (Raise the Red Lantern), is an urban tale of young lust and sibling rivalry in a sordid neighborhood around the ironically named Fragrant Cedar Street. That story's earthiness is matched by Wang Xiangfu's folksy 'Fritter Hollow Chronicles,' about peasants' vendettas and local politics, and by 'The Cure,' by Mo Yan (Red Sorghum; The Garlic Ballads), which details the fringe benefits of an execution. Personal alienation and disaffection are as likely to appear in stories with rural settings (Li Rui's 'Sham Marriage') as they are to poison the lives of urban characters (Chen Cun's 'Footsteps on the Roof'). Comedy takes an elegant and elaborate form in 'A String of Choices,' Wang Meng's tale of a toothache cure, and it assumes the burlesque of small-town propaganda fodder in Li Xiao's 'Grass on the Rooftop.'-Publishers Weekly Fiction that reflects the turmoil brought about by Tiananmen and the money-making ethic found in China today.-Library JournalIncludes contributions by Shi Tiesheng, Hong Ying, Su Tong, Wang Meng, Li Rui, Duo Duo, Chen Ran, Li Xiao, Yu Hua, Mo Yan, Ai Bei, Cao Naiqian, Can Xue, Bi Feiyu, Yang Zhengguang, Ge Fei, Chen Cun, Chi Li, Kong Jiesheng, Wang Xiangfu