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Heart Sutra
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Check link for latest rating. ( 170 ratings, 46 reviews)
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Heart Sutra
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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feedback is welcome!
Description
Heart Sutra is the most mysterious scripture in Chinese Buddhism. In Yan Lianke’s new novel, disciples of China’s five main religions—Buddhism, Daoism, Protestantism, Catholicism and Islam—gather for a year at the Religious Training Centre of Beijing’s National Politics University. They live together, study together, exercise together in the blazing sun, and get caught up in financial and sexual shenanigans.
Heart Sutra explores the complex relations between humans and gods, between the secular and the divine, and between genders. The youngest Daoist monk and the youngest Buddhist nun fall in love. But as their faith is tested, will they stay committed to the path of a holy life? The choices they make are confronting, because nothing less than the fate of the gods is at stake.
Illustrated with beautiful woodcuts, animated by an incisive sense of humour, and inhabited by an unforgettable cast of mortals and deities, Heart Sutra is a stunning addition to Yan Lianke’s oeuvre, which highlights the best and worst in humankind.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Yan Lianke's Heart Sutra is praised for its blend of satire and serious commentary, with reviews highlighting the novel's exploration of faith, love, and political dynamics. The book is described as both picaresque and complex, with a narrative that navigates through absurdity, darkness, and a glimmer of hope. It targets organised religion with incisive satire while maintaining a respectful distance from mocking personal faith, and its lush and surreal storytelling is frequently compared to works by Salman Rushdie and Olga Tokarczuk.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781922790132
Publisher: Text Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 14 March 2023
Country: Australia
Imprint: The Text Publishing Company
Contributors:
- Translated by Carlos Rojas
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 416
Collections
About the Author
Yan Lianke is the author of the memoir Three Brothers and numerous novels and novellas, including Hard Like Water, The Day the Sun Died, The Explosion Chronicles, The Four Books, Lenin’s Kisses, Serve the People!, Dream of Ding Village, and The Years, Months, Days. He was awarded the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature and the Franz Kafka Prize, among many accolades. He was twice a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize, and he has been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, the Man Asian Literary Prize, and the Prix Femina Étranger. He has also received two of China’s most prestigious literary honors, the Lu Xun Prize and the Lao She Award.
Carlos Rojas has translated seven books by Yan Lianke.
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