Irish
10-11-2012, 12:18 PM
Author of 'Red Sorghum', 'Big Breasts & Wide Hips,' and 'Frog,' among others.
Maybe the most famous living Chinese author? I have no idea. To be honest, this guy & Yu Hua are the only two I know of. (Curiously, both of them had their novels adapted for the screen by Zhang Yimou).
Recent audio interview, with transcript: http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Granta-Audio-Mo-Yan
JF: Some of your writing recalls the work of Gunter Grass, William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Were these writers available to you in China when you were growing up? Can you tell us a little about your influences?
MY: When I first started writing it was the year of 1981, so I didn’t read any books by Marquez or Faulkner. It was 1984 when I first read their works and undoubtedly those two writers have great influence on my creations. I found that my life experience is quite similar to theirs, but I only discovered this later on. If I had read their works sooner I would have already accomplished a masterpiece like they did.
Maybe the most famous living Chinese author? I have no idea. To be honest, this guy & Yu Hua are the only two I know of. (Curiously, both of them had their novels adapted for the screen by Zhang Yimou).
Recent audio interview, with transcript: http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Granta-Audio-Mo-Yan
JF: Some of your writing recalls the work of Gunter Grass, William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Were these writers available to you in China when you were growing up? Can you tell us a little about your influences?
MY: When I first started writing it was the year of 1981, so I didn’t read any books by Marquez or Faulkner. It was 1984 when I first read their works and undoubtedly those two writers have great influence on my creations. I found that my life experience is quite similar to theirs, but I only discovered this later on. If I had read their works sooner I would have already accomplished a masterpiece like they did.