Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua, translated by Andrew F. Jones

In spite of the comical nature of many scenes, Chronicle of a Blood Merchant is ultimately a heartbreaking story of a Chinese man and his family caught in the deprivation caused by Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Xu Sanguan pushes carts in a silk mill for a living that doesn’t pay enough to provide for his family. He resorts to selling his blood – and more and more frequently as he tries to get out of one desperate situation after another. After a decade of marriage and three sons, Xu is taunted by the knowledge that his oldest son is actually not of “his blood,” a realization that will both ruin and eventually redeem him.

Review: “New and Notable Books,” AsianWeek, November 7, 2003

Readers: Adult

Published: 2003 (United States)