The April 3rd Incident
  • Published: 22 October 2019
  • ISBN: 9780525435624
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $36.00

The April 3rd Incident

Stories

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From one of China's most famous contemporary writers, who celebrated novel To Live catapulted him to international fame: here is a stunning collection of stories, selected from the best of his early work and newly translated into English, that shows his far-reaching influence on a pivotal period in Chinese literature.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s—before his celebrated novel To Live catapulted him to international fame—Yu Hua, along with other young Chinese writers, departed from conventional realism in favor of a surreal, boundary-pushing approach that reflected the zeitgeist of their rapidly changing nation and also showed the influence of Western icons such as Kafka and Borges. Now available in English for the first time, these early stories find Yu Hua masterfully guiding us from one fractured reality to another: “A History of Two People” traces the paths of a man and a woman who dream in parallel throughout their lives. “As the North Wind Howled” carries a case of mistaken identity to absurd and hilarious conclusions. And the title story follows an unforgettable narrator determined to unearth a conspiracy against him that may not exist. By turns daring, darkly comic, thought-provoking, and profound, The April 3rd Incident powerfully captures a singular moment in Chinese letters.
  • Published: 22 October 2019
  • ISBN: 9780525435624
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $36.00
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About the author

Yu Hua

Yu Hua was born in 1960 in Zhejiang, China. He finished high school during the Cultural Revolution and worked as a dentist for five years before beginning to write in 1983. He has published three novels, six collections of stories, and three collections of essays. His work has been translated into French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean. In 2002 Yu Hua became the first Chinese writer to win the prestigious James Joyce Foundation Award. His novel To Live was awarded Italy’s Premio Grinzane Cavour in 1998, and To Live and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant were named two of the last decade’s ten most influential books in China. Yu Hua lives in Beijing.

Also by Yu Hua

To Live
Boy in the Twilight
Cries in the Drizzle
Chronicle Of A Blood Merchant
See all

Praise for The April 3rd Incident

  • "Brilliant. . . . Daring. . . . This spate of early stories shows a writer determined to make a name for himself." --Words without Borders
  • "Reinforces Yu as China's boldest and smartest literary agent provocateur. The world has never needed him more. . . . Epic. . . . Deeply moving." --The South China Morning Post
  • "Playful. . . . A volume of wry short stories sheds light on the author's early career. . . . Renmin, or people, lie at the heart of this collection. . . . The new individuality exhibited by [Yu's] often alienated characters reveals a struggle to adapt to a country transforming." --Financial Times
  • "Like some of the best literature, these stories ask more questions than they answer. . . . Intriguing. . . . Hua also has a special knack for making the mundane surreal." --The New York Journal of Books
  • "Delightful and powerful. . . . Yu Hua's early work demonstrates the power of surrealism as a form of protest, as he pushes the boundaries of art and expression." --The Cedar Rapids Gazette
  • "Written at the beginning of the stellar career of China's globally acclaimed writer Yu, that is from 1987-91, these seven stories are finally making their English-language debut. . . . [This] collection shows that his literary prowess and mastery were present from the start." --Booklist
  • " Yu's devastating wit and morbid humor are on full display. . . . Surreal, humorous, and unexpectedly poignant, Yu's collection will satisfy fans and readers new to his writing alike." --Publishers Weekly