A week before the Chinese New Year, the GVA book club will be meeting to discuss Yo Man's (Nobel Prize 2012) wildly visional and creative novel.

Ximen Nao, a landowner known for his generosity and kindness to his peasants, is not only stripped of his land and worldly possessions in Mao's Land Reform Movement of 1948, but is cruelly executed, despite his protestations of innocence. He goes to Hell, where Lord Yama, king of the underworld, has Ximen Nao tortured endlessly, trying to make him admit his guilt, to no avail. Finally, in disgust, Lord Yama allows Ximen Nao to return to earth, to his own farm, where he is reborn not as a human but first as a donkey, then an ox, pig, dog, monkey, and finally the big-headed boy Lan Qiansui. Through the earthy and hugely entertaining perspectives of these animals, Ximen Nao narrates fifty years of modern Chinese history, ending on the eve of the new millennium. Here is an absolutely spellbinding tale that reveals the author's love of the land, beset by so many ills, traditional and modern.

LOCATION: ONLINE via zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87168526761?pwd=eUpNSGUwZTkxT3NLTkFSVWdaRlk0dz09

Meeting ID: 871 6852 6761
Passcode: 012345

Presenter: Yu
Starting time: 19:15 sharp

Format:
1. Members introduction (5-10 minutes)
2. Book presentation (20-30 minutes)
– A brief history of author’s life
– A short summary of the book
– Main ideas/themes
3. Group discussion (45-60 minutes), members' personal views on the book, opposing ideas, etc.
4. Announcement/info on next meeting (5 minutes)

Note: reading the book is not a "must" to attend the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Upcoming events: https://genevainternationa93.wixsite.com/bookclub/post/future

Past events: https://genevainternationa93.wixsite.com/bookclub/post/_past

To join the glocals group: http://www.glocals.com/groups/geneva/geneva-book-club.htm

To join the Meetup group:
https://www.meetup.com/Geneva-International-Book-Club/