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Explosions and Other Stories
226 pages, Paperback
Published December 31, 1993
About the author
Mo Yan
312 books1,486 followersModern Chinese author, in the western world most known for his novel Red Sorghum (which was turned into a movie by the same title). Often described as the Chinese Franz Kafka or Joseph Heller.
Mo Yan (莫言) is a pen name and means don't speak. His real name is Guan Moye (simplified Chinese: 管谟业; traditional Chinese: 管謨業; pinyin: Guǎn Móyè).
He has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 for his work which "with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary". Among the works highlighted by the Nobel judges were Red Sorghum (1987) and Big Breasts & Wide Hips (2004), as well as The Garlic Ballads.
Chinese version: 莫言
Mo Yan (莫言) is a pen name and means don't speak. His real name is Guan Moye (simplified Chinese: 管谟业; traditional Chinese: 管謨業; pinyin: Guǎn Móyè).
He has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 for his work which "with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary". Among the works highlighted by the Nobel judges were Red Sorghum (1987) and Big Breasts & Wide Hips (2004), as well as The Garlic Ballads.
Chinese version: 莫言
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 24, 2014
Mo Yan deftly illuminates the humanity, resilience and complexity of China in these beautiful yet torturous short stories.
This book was a brilliant travel companion through China; so evocatively bringing to light the desires and struggles waged across a land by its inhabitants. In the circumstances of travelling, I find it is difficult to get a feel for the everyday reality of a place, and yet the characters in each of these short stories are each such a brilliant portrayal of a different aspect of Chinese existence and the incredible decisions people make that they brought me far closer to the country. The Renditions translation is superb; the prose is crisp and vibrant, the imagery true.
This work is moving, confronting, rich and important.
This book was a brilliant travel companion through China; so evocatively bringing to light the desires and struggles waged across a land by its inhabitants. In the circumstances of travelling, I find it is difficult to get a feel for the everyday reality of a place, and yet the characters in each of these short stories are each such a brilliant portrayal of a different aspect of Chinese existence and the incredible decisions people make that they brought me far closer to the country. The Renditions translation is superb; the prose is crisp and vibrant, the imagery true.
This work is moving, confronting, rich and important.
June 7, 2026
A very well written, engaging short fiction book consisting of a collection of six stories.
Explosions - about a Chinese film director who is married to a tall, ugly woman who works with the film directors father and mother on their land holding. The young wife is pregnant and it’s her second baby. The film director has come home from his work in the city to make his wife have an abortion. The film director’s father is unhappy and strikes the 30 year old film director in the face twice.
The Old Gun - man goes duck hunting for the first time with an old gun that his father used to kill himself. The man recalls his mother stating that he was not to ever touch the gun. When he did as a young boy, his mother sliced off part of his finger.
Flies - a young army officer narrates the story about how a Colonel was telling off soldiers for their lack of hygiene when the army cook came in offering the Colonel watermelon, then accidentally swapping a line hanging from the ceiling. The line was covered with flies. All the men in the room were asked to drop to the floor to avoid the flies. The narrator then tells a story of one night going with the cook to steal watermelons and being caught.
The Flying Ship - a young boy tells of going to a city with his siblings and grandmother regularly in prayer to beg. On this occasion they witness an airship falling to the ground near them and exploding, killing those nearby.
The Amputee - a young soldier returns to his village with only one arm. He feels hard done by, and has a chip on his shoulders, treating people poorly. He meets a young woman who has always had a crippled hand.
The Yellow-haired Baby - a young woman married a political officer and came to live with the old woman and her political officer son. The son was disliked by his wife. At work in the town five kms the political officer was a loner who enforced rules rigidly.
Winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. This book was first published in 1991.
Explosions - about a Chinese film director who is married to a tall, ugly woman who works with the film directors father and mother on their land holding. The young wife is pregnant and it’s her second baby. The film director has come home from his work in the city to make his wife have an abortion. The film director’s father is unhappy and strikes the 30 year old film director in the face twice.
The Old Gun - man goes duck hunting for the first time with an old gun that his father used to kill himself. The man recalls his mother stating that he was not to ever touch the gun. When he did as a young boy, his mother sliced off part of his finger.
Flies - a young army officer narrates the story about how a Colonel was telling off soldiers for their lack of hygiene when the army cook came in offering the Colonel watermelon, then accidentally swapping a line hanging from the ceiling. The line was covered with flies. All the men in the room were asked to drop to the floor to avoid the flies. The narrator then tells a story of one night going with the cook to steal watermelons and being caught.
The Flying Ship - a young boy tells of going to a city with his siblings and grandmother regularly in prayer to beg. On this occasion they witness an airship falling to the ground near them and exploding, killing those nearby.
The Amputee - a young soldier returns to his village with only one arm. He feels hard done by, and has a chip on his shoulders, treating people poorly. He meets a young woman who has always had a crippled hand.
The Yellow-haired Baby - a young woman married a political officer and came to live with the old woman and her political officer son. The son was disliked by his wife. At work in the town five kms the political officer was a loner who enforced rules rigidly.
Winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. This book was first published in 1991.
April 29, 2020
"The Old Gun"
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews