At Last: A Chinese-literate Western Literary Critic Actually Reads Mo Yan

Tired of rants castigating Mo Yan, the alleged Chinese “government stooge” and recently decorated Nobel Laureate?

Tiresome because most of his critics have read few if any of his novels in any language; Mo Yan bashing has so far concentrated on the much-awaited criticisms he has not uttered about his government’s shameless censorship policy. With Folk Opera in the New York Times, we get a better educated view from Ian Buruma, who has actually read some of Mo Yan’s novels in both Chinese and English translation . . .