''Big Breasts and Wide Hips'' is a novel by

Mo Yan Guan Moye (; born 17 February 1955), better known by the pen name Mo Yan (, ), is a Chinese novelist and short story writer. Donald Morrison of U.S. news magazine ''TIME'' referred to him as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirate ...

. It won the Dajia Honghe Literature Prize in 1997. The book tells the story of a mother and her eight daughters and one son, and explores Chinese history through the 20th century. The novel enthusiastically praises the original creator of life—the greatness, simplicity and selflessness of the mother, and the unparalleled significance of the inheritance of life. And in this flow chart of life, filled with the smoke of history and war, it is true, without any prejudice, and reproduces the history of a period of time. In 1997, ''Big Breasts and Wide Hips'' won China's Master Literature Award.

Characters

*Shangguan Lushi, the mother *Shangguan Laidi, Eldest Sister, daughter of Lushi and Big Paw. Married to Sha Yueliang. Mother of Sha Zaohua. *Shangguan Zhaodi, Second Sister, daughter of Lushi and Big Paw. Married to Sima Ku. Mother of twins, Sima Feng and Sima Huang. *Shangguan Lingdi, Third Sister, also known as Bird Fairy. Daughter of Lushi and a peddler of ducks. First wife of Speechless Sun. Mother of Big Mute and Little Mute. *Shangguan Xiangdi, Fourth Sister, daughter of Lushi and a doctor. Sold herself to a brothel during the famine in order to save her family. *Shangguan Pandi, Fifth Sister, daughter of Lushi and a butcher. Married to Lu Liren. Mother of Lu Shengli. Later changed her name to Ma Ruilian. *Shangguan Niandi, Sixth Sister, daughter of Lushi and a monk. Married to the American pilot Barbitt. *Shangguan Qiudi, Seventh Sister. Lushi gave birth to her after raped by deserters. Adopted by a Russian Duchess. *Shangguan Yunü, Eighth Sister, blind, daughter of Lushi and the Swedish missionary Maloja. *Shangguan Jintong, 'me' in the novel, son of Lushi and Maloja. Afflicted with breast fetishism.

Reception

''Big Breasts and Wide Hips'' received near universal critical acclaim from Western literary critics who praised Mo Yan's inventive storytelling and use of his unique style of

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) Magical (foaled 18 May 2015) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over middle distances and was rated in the top twenty racehorses in the world in 2018 and ...

to describe the surrealism the average Chinese peasant felt living under the Japanese occupation. Contributor for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Paul Mason declared Mo Yan to be the Chinese equivalent of

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...

, concluding that Mo Yan was "unlike any of the great living authors."

Jonathan Yardley Jonathan Yardley (born October 27, 1939) was the book critic at ''The Washington Post'' from 1981 to December 2014, and held the same post from 1978 to 1981 at the ''Washington Star''. In 1981, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Bac ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' praised Mo Yan's dedication to feminism throughout the novel, but offered numerous reservations about the quality of the novel. Most of Yardley's criticism focuses on the stale prose and clumsy characterization of Jintong.

References

{{Mo Yan Chinese historical novels Novels by Mo Yan 1996 Chinese novels Feminist novels Arcade Publishing books