3.5
Strange Beasts of China
ByPublisher Description
A New York Times Editors' Choice and Notable Book of 2021
"Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror of 2021"—The Washington Post
From one of the most exciting voices in contemporary Chinese literature, an uncanny and playful novel that blurs the line between human and beast…
In the fictional Chinese city of Yong’an, an amateur cryptozoologist is commissioned to uncover the stories of its fabled beasts. These creatures live alongside humans in near-inconspicuousness—save their greenish skin, serrated earlobes, and strange birthmarks.
Aided by her elusive former professor and his enigmatic assistant, our narrator sets off to document each beast, and is slowly drawn deeper into a mystery that threatens her very sense of self.
Part detective story, part metaphysical enquiry, Strange Beasts of China engages existential questions of identity, humanity, love and morality with whimsy and stylistic verve.
"Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror of 2021"—The Washington Post
From one of the most exciting voices in contemporary Chinese literature, an uncanny and playful novel that blurs the line between human and beast…
In the fictional Chinese city of Yong’an, an amateur cryptozoologist is commissioned to uncover the stories of its fabled beasts. These creatures live alongside humans in near-inconspicuousness—save their greenish skin, serrated earlobes, and strange birthmarks.
Aided by her elusive former professor and his enigmatic assistant, our narrator sets off to document each beast, and is slowly drawn deeper into a mystery that threatens her very sense of self.
Part detective story, part metaphysical enquiry, Strange Beasts of China engages existential questions of identity, humanity, love and morality with whimsy and stylistic verve.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStrange Beasts of China Reviews
3.5
“The idea and use of myths were great but i just wish the story was made more interesting cuz that's some soap opera”
“I really enjoyed the concise storytelling and character depths of the story. We follow the main character as she faces the different realities and facets of life through each of these beasts.
I found it funny how the story ended with a love story. Just as the narrator had seemed to indicate early on.
Favorite quotes:
Mutual destruction is the only way to survive. That's the circle of life. That's truth.
You can be a born actor, but that means everyone's watching you perform, and they laugh at your when you display emotion.
If you're too clever, too focused on the prize, you'll lose sight of the greater danger behind you.
You're only alive for a while, but dead forever. How you live, how you die, that's your own business.”
“while the overall plot felt jumpy and inconsistent at times, the storytelling within each chapter really shine with elements of sorrowful magic that follow and surround the characters and the beasts, bringing up nostalgia within me for a world so similar yet so different to our own. a dark and wonderful read that could nearly feel like a field report combined with a biologist’s diary”
About Yan Ge
Yan Ge was born in Sichuan, China in 1984. She is a fiction writer in both Chinese and English. She is the author of thirteen books, including six novels. She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Maodun Literature Prize (Best Young Writer), and was named by People's Literature magazine as one of twenty future literature masters in China. Her work has been translated into English, French and German, among other languages.
Jeremy Tiang is a Singaporean writer, translator, and playwright, based in New York City. He has translated more than ten books from Chinese and was recently honoured as the London Book Fair's inaugural Translator in Residence.
Jeremy Tiang is a Singaporean writer, translator, and playwright, based in New York City. He has translated more than ten books from Chinese and was recently honoured as the London Book Fair's inaugural Translator in Residence.
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