Under the stench of factory skies, two single parents and their four teenaged children gather together for Saturday dinners. But can widowed accountant Su Qin ever publicly acknowledge her socially-mismatched relationship with Ding Bogang, a laid-off manual worker? Can she bear to see her ambitious and studious daughter form a romantic connection with his son? Can her obese son create the perfect family he craves? Will Ding Bogang’s silly married daughter ever get pregnant?
In a story about growing up and the complications of family life, two generations of lonely individuals come together against the odds, learning to love as they traverse the long and arduous journey of life.
About the Author:
Lu Min was born in Jiangsu, China. She has received numerous awards in China including, in 2009, the highly prestigious Lu Xun Literary Prize. Her novel This Love Could Not be Delivered has been translated into English, as have several of her short stories and essays, including ‘Paradise Temple’, ‘Hidden Diseases’, ‘Xie Bomao R.I.P.’, and ‘The Banquet’.
About the Translators:
Nicky Harman lives in the UK and is a full-time translator of Chinese literary works. She has won several awards, including the 2020 Special Book Award, China, the 2015 Mao Tai Cup People’s Literature Chinese-English translation prize, and the 2013 China International Translation Contest, Chinese-to-English section. When not translating, she promotes contemporary Chinese fiction through teaching, blogs, talks and her work on Paper-Republic.org.
Helen Wang is a UK-based literary translator. In 2017 she won the Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation (UK) for her translation of Cao Wenxuan’s novel Bronze and Sunflower, and the Chen Bochui Special Award (China). She has previously translated ‘Xie Bomao, R.I.P.’ and ‘A Second Pregnancy, 1980’, both by Lu Min.
Reviews Quotes:
"The reality of family life in China is rarely as we might imagine it. Relations and interactions are fraught with very familiar concerns - partners, children, neighbours - yet seen through Lu Min’s Probing lens we see Chinese social relationships in all their ordinariness and also their peculiar uniqueness." --- Paul French, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Peking and City of Devils
