In the ninety-ninth district of a sprawling labour camp, the Author, Musician, S
cholar, Theologian and Technician - and hundreds just like them - are undergoing
Re-education, to restore their revolutionary zeal and credentials. In charge of
this process is the Child, who delights in draconian rules, monitoring behaviou
r and confiscating treasured books.
But when bad weather arrives, followed by th
e 'three bitter years', the intellectuals are abandoned by the regime and left o
n their own to survive. Divided into four narratives, the Four Books tells the s
tory of the Great Famine, one of China's most devastating and controversial peri
ods. This book was the winner of The Franz Kafka Prize 2014.
