The Fat Years (chinese)

Banned in China and often hailed as the Chinese version of ‘A Brave New World’ the Fat Years is a compelling philosophical novel of ideas, wrapped in a Chinese perspective of the world as seen from within China, but a brutal totalitarian China that’s morally bankrupt. It’s a chilling look at a world – and China – that could be. The Fat Years is a novel that works better as a novel of ideas than a compelling narrative tale. Oh there’s a love story, there's a political thriller in there, there's an astute economic examination of China, but the strength of the book is not about the characters and story, but rather the stark dystopian portrayal of a fictional China that's in fact remarkably zeitgeist (a fact that did not go noticed by the Chinese powers that be who banned the novel in China). With the rise of China, The Fat Years is a compelling novel that looks at the absurdity of the Chinese system with a perspective of one who lives as part of the system.  And while many key elements are lost in translation between Chinese and English, The Fat Years is a good introduction to Chinese culture, China-West relations, and perhaps a cautionary tale of a country and government gone awry because the citizens – and country – fail to learn the lesson of past mistakes so as to change the future.It's a warning and a message and a novel that should be read if you want to understand the Chinese conundrum as through a literary tale of action, intrigue, and mystery.