The Republic of Wine -

Mo Yan

Arcade Publishing

2012

368 páginas

12h 16m

ISBN-13: 9781611457292

WINNER OF THE 2012 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

In this hypnotic epic novel, Mo Yan, the most critically acclaimed Chinese writer of this generation, takes us on a journey to a conjured province of contemporary China known as the Republic of Wine—a corrupt and hallucinatory world filled with superstitions, gargantuan appetites, and surrealistic events. When rumors reach the authorities that strange and excessive gourmandise is being practiced in the city of Liquorland (so named for the staggering amount of alcohol produced and consumed there), veteran special investigator Ding Gou'er is dispatched from the capital to discover the truth. His mission begins at the Mount Lou Coal Mine, where he encounters the prime suspect—Deputy Head Diamond Jin, legendary for his capacity to hold his liquor. During the ensuing drinking duel at a banquet served in Ding's honor, the investigator loses all sense of reality, and can no longer tell whether the roast suckling served is of the animal or human variety. When he finally wakes up from his stupor, he has still found no answers to his rapidly mounting questions. Worse yet, he soon finds that his trusty gun is missing.
Interspersed throughout the narrative—and Ding's faltering investigation—are letters sent to Mo Yan by one Li Yidou, a doctoral candidate in Liquor Studies and an aspiring writer. Each letter contains a story that Li would like the renowned author's help in getting published. However, Li's tales, each more fantastic and malevolent than the last, soon begin alarmingly to resemble the story of Ding's continuing travails in Liquorland. Peopled by extraordinary characters—a dwarf, a scaly demon, a troupe of plump, delectable boys raised in captivity, a cookery teacher who primes her students with monstrous recipes—Mo Yan's revolutionary tour de force reaffirms his reputation as a writer of world standing. Wild, bawdy, politically explosive, and subversive, The Republic of Wine is both mesmerizing and exhilarating, proving that no repressive regime can stifle true creative imagination.

Resenhas (1)

3 (Bom)

Nesta narrativa bizarra e por vezes grotesca, o Investigador Especial Ding Gou'er é enviado para averiguar rumores de que os oficiais dessa 'Republica do Vinho' estariam misturando as quantidades desumanas de bebida alcoólica que consomem com a carne de crianças pequenas assadas. Aqui os excessos no comer e beber estão intimamente associados aos excessos do governo, da corrupção à burocracia.

A estranha história ainda inclui como narrador o próprio Mo Yan em correspondência com um escritor amador fictício. O romance é cheio de cenas absurdas, que podem provocar doses de riso ou nojo, a depender do leitor em questão. Não deixa de ser interessante na compreensão do papel da comida e bebida na cultura chinesa e, intrigantes correlações alegóricas talvez impossíveis de serem feitas de outro maneira por causa da censura. É uma boa leitura, mas para estômagos fortes.