{"title":"Arcade","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-cook-the-crook-the-real-estate-tycoon-by-liu-zhenyun","title":"The Cook The Crook \u0026 The Real Estate Tycoon by Liu Zhenyun","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Cook, the Crook, and the Real Estate Tycoon by the acclaimed prize-winning novelist Liu Zhenyun, is a gripping portrayal of contemporary China through the lens of one man's unexpected discovery. The protagonist, Liu Yuejin is a work site cook and small-time thief whose accidental find of a flash disk chronicling a web of high-level corruption sets off a convoluted chase. Set against the economic extremes of modern China, the novel navigates the murky waters of deceit and power, showcasing the stark divide between the super-rich and the migrant workers who fuel their success.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere are no heroes in this scathing, complex, and highly readable critique of the dark side of China's cutthroat capitalism, corruption, and the plight of the underclasses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Cook, the Crook, and the Real Estate Tycoon, adapted for a movie and television series in 2008 in China, is a story that resonates across mediums and cultures.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lit Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50917864735033,"sku":"11847669","price":89.9,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0822\/6871\/7369\/files\/11847669.jpg?v=1750398741"},{"product_id":"remembering-1942-and-other-chinese-stories-by-liu-zhenyun","title":"Remembering 1942 and Other Chinese Stories by Liu Zhenyun","description":"\u003cp\u003eSweeping, Humorous, and Moving Tales from One of Contemporary China's Greatest Writers\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe bestselling and award-winning author of novels satirizing contemporary China, Liu Zhenyun is also renowned for his short stories. Remembering 1942 showcases six of his best, featuring a diverse cast of ordinary people struggling against the obstacles bureaucratic, economic, and personal that life presents.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe exquisite stories within this collection range from an exploration of office politics unmoored by an unexpected gift to the tale of a young soldier attempting to acclimate to his new life as a student and the story of a couple struggling to manage the demands of a young child. The masterful title story which was adapted into a movie in 2012 explores the legacy of the drought and famine that struck Henan Province in 1942, tracing its echoes in one man's journey through war and revolution and into the present.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEach story is rich in wit, insight, and empathy, and together they bring into focus the realities of China's past and present, evoking clearly and mordantly the often Kafkaesque circumstances of contemporary life in the world's most populous nation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lit Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50917864767801,"sku":"11847670","price":89.9,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0822\/6871\/7369\/files\/11847670.jpg?v=1750398757"},{"product_id":"life-and-death-are-wearing-me-out-by-mo-yan","title":"Life and Death are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eToday's most revered, feared, and controversial Chinese novelist offers a tour de force in which the real, the absurd, the comical, and the tragic are blended into a fascinating read. The hero-or antihero-of Mo Yan's novel is Ximen Nao, a landowner known for his generosity and kindness and benevolence to his peasants. However, during Mao's Land Reform Movement of 1948, he is not only stripped of his land and worldly possessions but cruelly executed, despite his protestations of innocence.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe novel opens in Hell, where Lord Yama, king of the underworld, has Ximen Nao tortured endlessly in order to force a confession of guilt from him. When his efforts remain fruitless, Lord Yama allows Ximen Nao to return to earth, where he is reborn not as a human, but first as a donkey, then a horse, a pig, a monkey, and, finally, the big-headed boy Lan Qiansui. Through the eyes of animal and boy, Ximen Nao takes us on a deliriously unique journey through fifty years of peasant history in China, right to the edge of the new millennium.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere is an absolutely riveting tale that reveals the author's love of a homeland beset by ills inevitable, political, and traditional.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTranslated by Howard Goldblatt.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lit Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52069940429113,"sku":"11854316","price":85.9,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0822\/6871\/7369\/files\/11854316.jpg?v=1775102680"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.cziplee.com\/collections\/arcade.oembed","provider":"CzipLee Retail","version":"1.0","type":"link"}