Novel
Red Sorghum
紅高粱家族
Mo Yan · 1987
Synopsis
In Gaomi county, in Shandong, a narrator reconstructs, jumping from one period to another, the history of his family over three generations. His grandmother, Dai Fenglian, is promised to the leprous son of a rich sorghum distiller; on the way, her sedan chair is attacked, and one of the bearers, Yu Zhan'ao, seizes the opportunity. A widow, she runs the distillery, while Yu, now her lover, turns to banditry and then takes command of a band that fights the Japanese occupier.
Context
The five parts, first published in magazines, were collected in 1987 into a first novel, by the army's literary publisher. The narrative covers the years 1923 to 1976 and makes red sorghum a symbol of indifference and vitality. Zhang Yimou adapted the first two parts; his film received the Golden Bear at Berlin in 1988. Howard Goldblatt translated it into English in the early 1990s. In French, Pascale Guinot and Sylvie Gentil published it with Actes Sud in 1990 under the title Le Clan du sorgho, then Sylvie Gentil gave a new version of it at Seuil in 2014.
Who it is for
A long novel with a fragmented chronology and violent scenes; two French translations exist, the second from 2014.
Prizes and reception
Sylvie Gentil's version, published by Seuil, was reissued in paperback by Points in 2016, according to the BnF.
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