Wolf Totem 
Fascinating lupine logic
AUTHOR: Jiang Rong  AVAILABLE: Now

Wolf Totem is something very special. Millionsof Chinese have already been enchanted by this book, which is both an exciting tale of a Beijing student transplanted to remote Inner Mongolia and a fascinating anthropological, historical and environmental treatise. And now, the award- winning English translation by Howard Goldblatt is flying off the shelves so quickly that at least one greedy GZ book-shop has been able to charge almost double its 96RMB cover price. The book's phenomenal success is thanks not least to the years its author spent living on the grasslands, and there is a rare directness to his account of the relationships between the nomads and the wolves they simultaneously fear and revere, and between the "sheep-like" Han and the "wolf-like" Mongolians. At points, the development of the book's arguments is a little laboured, but on the whole this polyphonic novel is a thrilling  rollercoaster ride of ideas and experiences. How did the supposedly "primitive" Mongols establish the largest land empire in world history? How did they come to understand the importance of large predators in maintaining ecological balance long before modern science ever did? In 'Wolf Totem', sometimes subversive arguments are interspersed with moments of tranquillity and naked horror, described by the author with a haunting intensity. The word "unique" is often misused, but not in this case. Highly recommended.

Also available

1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance
Stunning revelation or groundless speculation?
AUTHOR: Gavin Menzies  AVAILABLE: June 3 
 
Gavin Menzies is no stranger to controversy. When he published '1421: The Year China Discovered the World', the retired submariner's assertion that the Chinese beat Columbus to America saw him lauded as both a visionary and a charlatan.
But this hasn't stopped him. In '1434' he makes the startling claim that the Renaissance was in fact sparked by the visit to Italy of an intellectually and technologically advanced Chinese delegation. Will '1434' rock the very foundations of Western civilization? Or will it be denounced as pseudo-his- torical nonsense? And what's next? '1495: The Year China Invented the iPod'? Only one thing is certain: '1434' will sell by the wagonload.

Kieron Smith, Boy
About a wee little boy
AUTHOR: James Kelman  AVAILABLE: Now

What the f**k? A James Kelman book with all the rude words asterisked out? Does this mean the Glaswegian novelist who upset prudish readers with his profanity-laden 'How Late it Was, How Late' has turned over a new leaf? Not exactly. The self-censorship in 'Kieron Smith, Boy', as an adolescent narrator's attempts to chronicle his life in and around Glasgow without directly reproducing the "bad words" he so often hears, may in part be a wry response to Kelman's detractors. But it is also part of the book's concern with language and power, as Keiron is pressurised to abandon the rich Glaswegian dialect that the author himself has often used so effectively. Yes, this is a boy's tale from a boy's
perspective, but Kelman is too ruthlessly committed a writer to turn 'Kieron Smith, Boy' into straightforward, sentimental entertainment.

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper 
One woman's extreme eating tour of China
AUTHOR: Fuchsia Dunlop  AVAILABLE: Now

Lots of laowai enjoy showing off about what they've eaten in China, but few are as hardcore as Fuchsia Dunlop. Since first arriving in 1994, determined to explore Chinese cuisine in all its variety, things have entered Dunlop's mouth that the squeamish would not want to enter even their worst nightmares. But 'Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper' is not about showing off. Instead, as the author eats her way across the Middle Kingdom and becomes the first foreigner to study full-time at the Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu, it is her genuine love of Chinese food – and particularly the complex, fiery flavours of Sichuan – that shines
through. Her book contains plenty that will turn sensitive stomachs, but also much that will make inquisitive eaters feel very hungry indeed.

GREAT BOOKS THAT SHAPED CHINA

Inner Cannon of the Yellow Emperor  
AUTHOR: Huang Di (maybe) WRITTEN: Who knows?

'The Inner Cannon of the Yellow Emperor' (also known as 'Neijing') is an ancient tome that has been profoundly influential, even though its origins remain shrouded in mystery. Traditionally considered to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese, the legendary Yellow Emperor, or Huang Di, is also popularly credited with having invented raditional Chinese medicine (TCM), composing the 'Neijing' with his almost equally legendary doctor, Qibo. However, while this potentially dates the tract to around 2700 to 2600BC, most experts now agree that the Neijing' was compiled by a subsequent scholar (or scholars) more than 2,000 years later, since which time it has repeatedly been revised, adding to the mystery. Whatever the truth is, 'The Inner Cannon of the Yellow Emperor', with its discussions of yin and yang and descriptions of various forms of diagnosis and treatment, is still universally regarded as the foundational text of TCM.

Competition

Upon meeting James Joyce for the first time,
which star-struck American author offered to throw himself out the window, should the Irish writer request it?

A:  Ernest Hemingway
B:  William Faulkner
C:  F Scott Fitzgerald
D:  Dr Seuss

Send your answer to editor@thatsprd.com before June 17.