Pleasure of Thinking

The dazzling essays of the beloved, subversive Chinese writer Wang Xiaobo, a continual bestseller in China, now in English for the first time.

Wang Xiaobo made his name as a novelist, but his essays, too, have become ongoing bestsellers in China since their publication in the 1990s. Bringing together his thoughts on reading, talking, and silence during the Cultural Revolution; the irrepressible spirit of one beloved pig he met while an "educated youth"; and being operated on via a textbook—these essays offer a rare glimpse into a world rarely seen and discussed with such honesty.

Written with a light touch and a wry sense of humour, these essays showcase the work of a great literary talent, grappling with sociology, sexuality, and feminism, the cultural clash of living in the USA, and with Chinese sci-fi, the internet, and beloved European writers like Bertrand Russell and Italo Calvino. Electrifying and containing a razor-sharp wit and intellect, this collection reveals the voice of a generation to English-speaking readers for the very first time.