Literature Witnessing Female Power: Award-Winning Writer Xue Mo Invites You to The London Book Fair 2023

“Into the Desert tells a story about resilience of the human spirit. It portrays struggle between man and nature, between fate and free-will, in particular, between morality and evil.”— Professor Chen and Professor Wang

“This award-winning novel tells a story of two women who get stuck in a desperate situation but refuse to yield and fight against fate, just like each one of us has to stay strong in the face of adversity. Their search for hope, their courage to fight, their struggle against fate and their transcendence through faith, all of these not only show the strong will of Chinese women, but also implicate the common values of humanity. Such a story can create strong resonance with readers all over the world, and thereby generate a power to lift them up.”   

 

The London Book Fair 2023 is soon to take place over three full days, starting from Tuesday, April 18 to Thursday, April 20. A series of literary works by writer Xue Mo will be displayed at stand 7A44, arranged by Ruxue International Media Inc. This year, a special corner will also be built to showcase Xue Mo’s boutique novels at the China International Book Trading Corporation’s booth(CIPG).

It is worth mentioning that during the upcoming event, award-winning writer Xue Mo will be invited to attend a couple of important conferences and academic seminars. Among all activities, an expert dialogue themed “Literature Witnesses Female Power” is the most eye-catching one. Overseas scholars will exchange views face-to-face with writer Xue Mo, sharing stories of rural villages along the ancient Silk Road, analyzing the female characters portrayed by Xue Mo, and discussing about female power from the perspective of literature.

Xue Mo’s The Women, the Camels and the Dholes was published by BookBaby in September 2022. Set in the 90s, this short novel centers on two village women who are coerced by fate surviving a desperate adventure, which implicates the common goodness of humanity as well as the aesthetics of literature. It is a tribute to Chinese women for their unrelenting, uncompromising pursuit of happiness, hope and freedom despite poverty, misery and despair.

 

Into the Desert, another English version of The Women, the Camels and the Dholes, was adapted and co-translated by Howard Goldblatt, the world’s leading sinologist and translator of Chinese literature, as well as his wife Dr. Sylvia Li-chun Lin. In June 2022, Into the Desert was first published by Long River Press, a San Francisco-based imprint of Sinomedia International Group. In October 2022, this short novel won the Best Translated Book Award issued by China International Communications Group. Chinese experts highly praised it as an extraordinary literary work which carries the common values for all mankind:

“This award-winning novel tells a story of two women who get stuck in a desperate situation but refuse to yield and fight against fate, just like each one of us has to stay strong in the face of adversity. Their quest for hope, their courage to fight, their struggle against fate and their transcendence through faith, all of these not only show the strong will of Chinese women, but also implicate the common values of humanity. Such a story can create strong resonance with readers all over the world, and thereby generate a power to lift them up.”

 

Apart from that, Into the Desert has also enjoyed extensive attention from high profile writers and scholars at abroad. Some prestigious literary critics have commented on this phenomenal novel from different cultural and literary perspectives.

“What follows is a gripping story of survival in the wilderness, in which the grit and resourcefulness of Lanlan and Ying’er are tested to the breaking point. As in all great adventure stories, Xue Mo ably convinces the reader, time after time, that the sisters-in-law have exhausted all their options and face certain death. But again and again, he finds unexpected but plausible ways for them to survive—though not without paying a heavy price.” stated the popular American writer James Kennedy in his book review.

“Into the Desert tells a story about resilience of the human spirit. It portrays struggle between man and nature, between fate and free-will, in particular, between morality and evil.” Professor Chen from Loyola University Chicago and Professor Wang from University of Illinois Chicago co-saluted this great novel for its profound impact on individuals and society.

“Given its structure, diverse themes and cultural depictions, Into the Desert is going to gain a potentially wide readership for sure. It would be a perfect book for gender interpretation and research for those who are looking for true stories of village women who live in rural China.” Professor Du from Knox College regarded Into the Desert as a classic feminist novel.

Hsiu-ling Robertson, Professor Emerita at Northwestern University, even compared Into the Desert with Desert, the most celebrated work of Nobel Prize-winning author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio. She critiqued as follows,

“Both novels are set in the desert, and draw a realistic picture of the existential crisis and the ambivalence of disadvantaged cultures and underserved communities, in an attempt to arouse wide public concern to cultural conflicts.”

So far, Xue Mo has published 105 literary works and culture-themed publications in total. Besides English, Xue Mo’s works have also appeared in French, German and more than three dozen other languages, reaching a large international readership. As more and more overseas readers get familiarized with and be fond of writer Xue Mo, his works have slowly been considered as part of world literature, showing the world another possibility of Chinese literature.

During the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022, writer Xue Mo ranked No.1 in the list of top topics in the international media, who even outshone the Spanish Guest of Honor and became the most talked-about figure. “Xue Mo” and his works have been covered by more than 2,000 media outlets, including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and so on. Based on the latest statistical analysis of media presence conducted by Meltwater, the Top 10 print and online media coverage related to “Xue Mo” potentially reached over 1 billion people.

As one of the most influential authors of modern Chinese literature, Xue Mo has been shortlisted three times for the Mao Dun literature Award, and created dozens of full-length novels, including The Desert Trilogy (Desert Rites, Desert Hunters, White Tiger Pass), The Soul Trilogy (Curse of Xixia, Legendary Wolf of Xixia, The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman), Wild Fox Ridge, Liangzhou Ci: A Tale of Wulin and Eternal Love. Other renowned publications include a poetry collection Fox Worshiping the Moon, as well as a wide range of cultural studies, namely “Secrets of Mahasiddhas” (Volume I-VIII), Buddha’s Wisdom (Volume I-III), Laozi’s True Thoughts (Tome I-IV), Laozi in Poems, Luminous Mahamudra Series Book 1-10, Xue Mo’s Philosophy of the Mind Series, An Outline of Xue Mo’s Study of the Mind, A Study Guide for Cultural Transmission. Four of his non-fiction works are One Man’s West: A Biography of Xue Mo, Descendants of the Huns, Don Quixote in North America, and Mountain God’s Arrow Stacks. His Suosalang, an epic poem in eighty thousand lines and over a million words, emerged from his own study and lifelong practice.

Deeply inspired by the land and people in China’s West, Xue Mo has produced a broad collection of literary works depicting the history and present state of Western China and its culture, building a variety of strong characters such as peasants, hunters, camel drivers and martial heroes, portraying their survival, spirituality, love and belief, and further establishing an inquiry into humanity and eternity. His works are full of vitality and artistic appeal and possess the power to cleanse the soul. Some media even praise them as “true novels from China’s West” and “rare art treasure”, part of which has also been selected into several renowned international publications.

 

AP :https://apnews.com/press-release/ein-presswire-newsmatics/entertainment-books-and-literature-china-ein-presswire-newsmatics-1c7c68303dc8cd3359a077a734db8b41

 

UK POST OBSERVER:https://www.ukpostobserver.com/article/627066580-literature-witnessing-female-power-award-winning-writer-xue-mo-invites-you-to-the-london-book-fair-2023

 

P.S.Into the Desert in Amazon：

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Desert-Xuemo/dp/1592652549/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=into+the+desert+xuemo&qid=1676602370&sr=8-1

 

Xue Mo Culture：

www.xuemo.cn/en

 

Xue Mo's Email：

xuemo1963@163.com