Staff Pick
After being mesmerized by Lianke's The Day the Sun Died, I'm excited to experience more of his unique satirical voice. The premise, described by the publisher as "the unlikely love story of a Buddhist nun and a Daoist priest" against the backdrop of "organized tug-of-war competitions between the religions," appears delectably absurd, tackling questions of religion, faith, and corruption. If that weren't enticing enough, this book will also include original papercut illustrations. Sign me up! Recommended By Mar S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
From "China's foremost literary satirist" (Financial Times) comes a captivating new novel set at a religious training center in Beijing, focusing on the unlikely love story of a Buddhist nun and a Daoist priest
At the Religious Training Center on the campus of Beijing's National Politics University, disciples of China's five main religions — Buddhism, Daoism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam--gather for a year of intensive study and training. They live in dormitories, eat at shared tables in the cafeteria, and attend lectures to learn about their own religion while also sharing in the lessons other faiths can bring. In this hallowed yet jovial atmosphere, the institute's two youngest disciples — Yahui, a Buddhist jade nun, and Gu Mingzheng, a Daoist master — fall into a fast friendship that might bloom into something more.
This year, however, the worldly Director Gong has an exciting new plan: he has organized tug-of-war competitions between the religions, pitting Catholics against Protestants, and Buddhists against Muslims. The fervor of competition offers excitement for the disciples, as well as a lucrative source of fundraising, but Yahui looks on the games with distrust: her beloved mentor, Jueyu shifu, collapsed after witnessing one of these competitions. Gu Mingzheng, meanwhile, has his own mission at the institute, centering on his search for his unknown father. Soon it becomes clear that corruption is seeping ever more deeply into the foundation of the institute under Director Gong's watch, and Yahui and Gu Mingzheng will be forced to ask themselves whether it is better to stay committed to an increasingly fraught faith or to return to secular life forever — and nothing less than the fate of the gods itself is at stake.
Illustrated throughout with beautiful original woodcuts, animated by an incisive sense of humor, and peopled by an unforgettable cast of mortals and deities alike, Heart Sutra is a stunning and rich addition to Yan Lianke's oeuvre that asks questions about the role of the state in religion and the costs of division when unity is most needed.
Review
"His talent cannot be ignored." — New York Times
Review
"Yan's subject is China, but he has condensed the human forces driving today's global upheavals into a bracing, universal vision." — New York Times Book Review
Review
"One of China's most important — and certainly most fearless — living writers." — Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
YAN LIANKE is the author of the memoir Three Brothers and numerous novels and novellas, including Hard Like Water, The Day the Sun Died, The Explosion Chronicles, The Four Books, Lenin's Kisses, Serve the People!, Dream of Ding Village, and The Years, Months, Days. Among many accolades, he was awarded the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature and the Franz Kafka Prize. He was twice a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize, and he has been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, the Man Asian Literary Prize, and the Prix Femina Étranger. He has also received two of China's most prestigious literary honors, the Lu Xun Prize and the Lao She Award.