The Fat Years - Hardcover

Koonchung, Chan

3.38

1,984 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385534345 ISBN 13: 9780385534345

Publisher: Nan a Talese, 2012

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Banned in China, this controversial and politically charged novel tells the story of the search for an entire month erased from official Chinese history.

Beijing, sometime in the near future: a month has gone missing from official records. No one has any memory of it, and no one could care less—except for a small circle of friends, who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the sinister cheerfulness and amnesia that have possessed the Chinese nation. When they kidnap a high-ranking official and force him to reveal all, what they learn—not only about their leaders, but also about their own people—stuns them to the core. It is a message that will astound the world.

A kind of Brave New World reflecting the China of our times, The Fat Years is a complex novel of ideas that reveals all too chillingly the machinations of the postmodern totalitarian state, and sets in sharp relief the importance of remembering the past to protect the future.

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Review:

"Smart, incendiary . . . Although "The Fat Years" clearly owes a debt to "Brave New World," Chan's characters are infinitely more believable, and drawn with a real sense of sympathy and understanding -- something Huxley's archetypes famously lacked. As for plausibility, "The Fat Years" is almost too believable . . . An urgent clarion call for people in every country to treasure their individuality."
--NPR
"Chan has crafted a cunning caricature of modern China, with its friction between communism and consumerism, its desire to reframe the Revolution in terms of 'market share and the next big thing.' But he has also identified a deeper dislocation, one stretching from China to the world."
--"Los Angeles Times
"
"With its offbeat puzzle and diverting characters, "The Fat Years" is not only absorbing in its own right, it also shines reflected light on the foibles of the West."
--"The New York Times Book Review
"
"Inventive and highly topical."
--"The Wall Street Journal
"
"A fascinating tale of China just over the horizon."
--"The New Yorker"
"Part political thriller, part dystopian nightmare . . . Chan reveals the moral and political perils of contemporary Chinese life."
--"Publishers Weekly
"
"Eerily prescient. . . A gripping, if not terrifying, treatise on the rise of China, present and future."
--"Toronto Star
""Possibly the most audacious book to have been published by a Chinese author not living in exile since Lu Xun excoriated the atrophied Confucianism of the early 20th century. . . . This novel isn't only essential reading, it is also urgent."
--"The Globe and Mail
"
"In conjuring China's very near future, Chan Koonchung has given us a bracingly honest portrait of the present. He captures all the flamboyant paradoxes of daily life in China on the cusp of empire, but is also awake to its submerged anxieties. His writing is steeped in humor and fantasy, but his project could not be mo

"An uncommon novel.... With its offbeat puzzle and diverting characters ... Chan's story is not only absorbing in its own right, it also shines reflected light on the foibles of the West." --"The New York Times "
"Smart, incendiary. . . . Although "The Fat Years" clearly owes a debt to "Brave New World," Chan's characters are infinitely more believable, and drawn with a real sense of sympathy and understanding." --Michael Schaub, NPR
"A cunning caricature of modern China." --"Los Angeles Times"
"It's no wonder that the insecure Chinese authorities have banned this book in China itself. It tells stunning truths that those authorities strive hard to keep under the rug, and it tells them with a literary flair worthy of Orwell." --Richard Bernstein, author of "The Coming Conflict with China "
" "
"In conjuring China's very near future, Chan Koonchung has given us a bracingly honest portrait of the present." --"The New Yorker "
"A not-so-veiled satire of the Chinese government's tendency to make dates such as the Tiananmen massacre of June 4 1989 virtually disappear from the country's history." --"Financial Times "
"Inventive and highly topical." --"The Wall Street Journal "
"An audacious view of a counterfeit paradise. . . . This novel isn't only essential reading, it is also urgent." --"The Globe and Mail "(Toronto)
"To touch on so many issues . . . in such a compelling narrative is a triumph, abetted by an excellent translation by Michael Duke." --"The Guardian "(London)
"A thought-provoking novel about China's tomorrow that reveals the truth about China today." --Xinran, author of "The Good Women of China"
" "
""The Fat Years" presents a vivid, intelligent and disturbing picture of the world's emerging super-power." "--The Spectator"
" "
"Eerily prescient. . . A gripping . . . treatise on the rise of China, present and future." --"Toronto Star"
"
""Bracing, smart and entertaining." --"The Independent" (London)
"Hardly a thriller in the conventional sense of the word but a lot more scary than most." --"The Times "(London)

An uncommon novel . With its offbeat puzzle and diverting characters Chan s story is not only absorbing in its own right, it also shines reflected light on the foibles of the West. "The New York Times"
Smart, incendiary. . . . Although "The Fat Years" clearly owes a debt to "Brave New World," Chan s characters are infinitely more believable, and drawn with a real sense of sympathy and understanding. Michael Schaub, NPR
A cunning caricature of modern China. "Los Angeles Times"
It s no wonder that the insecure Chinese authorities have banned this book in China itself. It tells stunning truths that those authorities strive hard to keep under the rug, and it tells them with a literary flair worthy of Orwell. Richard Bernstein, author of "The Coming Conflict with China"
""
In conjuring China s very near future, Chan Koonchung has given us a bracingly honest portrait of the present. "The New Yorker "
A not-so-veiled satire of the Chinese government s tendency to make dates such as the Tiananmen massacre of June 4 1989 virtually disappear from the country s history. "Financial Times "
Inventive and highly topical. "The Wall Street Journal "
An audacious view of a counterfeit paradise. . . . This novel isn t only essential reading, it is also urgent. "The Globe and Mail "(Toronto)
To touch on so many issues . . . in such a compelling narrative is a triumph, abetted by an excellent translation by Michael Duke. "The Guardian "(London)
A thought-provoking novel about China s tomorrow that reveals the truth about China today. Xinran, author of "The Good Women of China"
""
"The Fat Years" presents a vivid, intelligent and disturbing picture of the world s emerging super-power. " The Spectator"
""
Eerily prescient. . . Agripping . . . treatise on the rise of China, present and future. "Toronto Star"
"
" Bracing, smart and entertaining. "The Independent" (London)
Hardly a thriller in the conventional sense of the word but a lot more scary than most. "The Times "(London)"

"Smart, incendiary. . . . Although The Fat Years clearly owes a debt to Brave New World, Chan's characters are infinitely more believable, and drawn with a real sense of sympathy and understanding." --Michael Schaub, NPR

"A cunning caricature of modern China." --Los Angeles Times

"It's no wonder that the insecure Chinese authorities have banned this book in China itself. It tells stunning truths that those authorities strive hard to keep under the rug, and it tells them with a literary flair worthy of Orwell." --Richard Bernstein, author of The Coming Conflict with China

"In conjuring China's very near future, Chan Koonchung has given us a bracingly honest portrait of the present." --The New Yorker

"A not-so-veiled satire of the Chinese government's tendency to make dates such as the Tiananmen massacre of June 4 1989 virtually disappear from the country's history." --Financial Times

"Inventive and highly topical." --The Wall Street Journal
"An audacious view of a counterfeit paradise. . . . This novel isn't only essential reading, it is also urgent." --The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
"To touch on so many issues . . . in such a compelling narrative is a triumph, abetted by an excellent translation by Michael Duke." --The Guardian (London)

"A thought-provoking novel about China's tomorrow that reveals the truth about China today." --Xinran, author of The Good Women of China

"The Fat Years presents a vivid, intelligent and disturbing picture of the world's emerging super-power." --The Spectator

"Eerily prescient. . . A gripping . . . treatise on the rise of China, present and future." --Toronto Star

"Bracing, smart and entertaining." --The Independent (London)

"Hardly a thriller in the conventional sense of the word but a lot more scary than most." --The Times (London)

About the Author:

CHAN KOONCHUNG is a novelist, journalist, and screenwriter. Born in Shanghai and raised and educated in Hong Kong, he studied at the University of Hong Kong and Boston University. He has published more than a dozen Chinese-language books and in 1976 founded the monthly magazine City in Hong Kong, of which he was the chief editor and then publisher for twenty-three years. He has been a producer on more than thirteen films. Chan Koonchung now lives in Beijing.

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