Frog, Mo Yan
Does anyone have the right to decide how many children a woman should have? Whether it depends on individual circumstances - living conditions, financial situation, relationship or external influences - politics and sociological impositions. Is a man free if someone else restricts his basic human right - the right to give a new life?
Many political options have left a bitter taste in the mouths of the people. I can only assume that the people at the helm were convinced that they were doing the best thing with the best intentions.
In this novel he is writing of a sensitive and poignant topic - pregnancy in China and the Chinese policy of one child.
Mo Yan depicts life in rural China from the mid-20th century to the present day.
The novel describes the life path of Wan Xin, the daughter of a doctor who followed her father’s footsteps and began her working life as a midwife. In her youth, she became a fanatical advocate of one-child policy and family planning during the Cultural Revolution. Her nephew Wan Zu, who has become a widower himself due to the one-child policy, wants to record her life, from glorious days to old age, in which she tries to atone for all the evil she has done to others.
"It's like looking at a pea through a turtle's eyes - it all depends on the angle of view."
Mo Yan, real name Guan Moye, was born in 1955. He took the name Mo Yan because it means "not to speak" or "without words" it is dangerous to say too much. Mo Yan's writing style is warm and fluid and quickly brings the topic of the novel closer to the reader.
Intrigued by the way he writes, I decided to read another book by this author that I will describe next week.
"Rivers run east for thirty years and west for the next thirty." A wise saying
See you on Tuesday!
Comments