Individuals: Flash Fiction

by Lao Ma, Mark Kitto (editor), Li Qinsheng (translator)

While many Chinese writers appear addicted to long narratives, the stories in Lao Ma’s Individuals prove that brevity is the soul of wit. Frustrated professors, pompous judges and devious careerists cross the pages of this book, as Lao Ma skilfully dissects the hypocrisies and ironies of life in China. The collection was edited by Mark Kitto (China Cuckoo) and features forewords by Yan Lianke as well as the author himself.

Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Lao Ma, (the pen-name of Prof. Ma Junjie 马俊杰) began to write novels in the 1990s, and has become recognized in China as a master of short and “flash” fiction, publishing hundreds of stories in various literary publications. Lao Ma’s writings, which have been garlanded with awards, include the novel Ai HaiYo ( 《哎嗨哟》 “Hey”), and the short story collections Sha Xiao (《傻笑》 “Giggle”), GeBieRen (《个别人》 “Individuals”). Lao Ma is known as a pioneer of the popular genre of ‘flash fiction’ (short, short fiction) in China. Currently Lao Ma combines his writing with his duties as a professor at the People’s University of China.

Reviews

[Dương Khánh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lao Ma est un maître de flash fiction. Chaque petite histoire manifeste une problématique de la société. Etant quelqu'un de humoriste mais aussi de sévère, l'auteur a observé, raconté et rigolé. J'ai découvert de surprise en surprise tout au long de ce livre.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

There were typos in this, but I didn’t care – that’s how good it was. This is the second book of Chinese contemporary fiction that I’ve been sent in recent months, and both of them have been exceptional. In this one, Lao Ma has released a sequence of flash fiction pieces which are loosely connected through their shared theme of life as a lecturer at a university in mainland China.

I’ll admit, I’m not the most multi-cultured person that I know, and I knew next to nothing about China before I picked this book up, but I really, really enjoyed it. Lao Ma has got a rare talent, and that’s probably best illustrated by the work of Charles Bukowski – he can deliver one line which is just so simple and yet so perfect that, as a writer myself, I can’t help but feel blown away by it. Amazing!

[John Defrog: global citizen, local gadfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short short stories (or “flash fiction, as the kids call it these days) from Lao Ma – a.k.a. Ma Junjie, a professor of literature at People's University in Beijing). The stories are focused mostly on university life, but poke fun at just about anyone with an “official” position, from government administrators to university professors. They’re more like anecdotes than stories, but for the most part they're punchy, amusing and well written. The copy from Make-Do has a few serious editing errors in it, but for anyone who wants a humorous look at the hypocrisies and corruption that characterize the Chinese Establishment (many of which could apply anywhere, really) – or if you want a primer on how to write flash fiction – I’d recommend this.