Author(s): Yan Lianke

General Fiction

Lenin's Kisses is a brilliant novel about modern China.

Blind, deaf, and disfigured, the 197 citizens of the Village of Liven enjoy a peaceful lifestyle, spared from the government's watchful eye. But when an unseasonal snowstorm wipes out the grain crops, a county official convinces the villagers to set up a travelling freak-show showcasing their disabilities. With the money, he intends to buy Lenin's embalmed corpse from Russia and install it in a mausoleum in the mountains to attract tourism to the sleepy district.

Lenin's Kisses is a rollicking tragicomedy with a cast of moving characters - a cautionary tale of the all-consuming desire for power and wealth from one of China's most respected and celebrated writers.