RavePloughsharesIn The Hundred Waters, the nuclear family truly has nuclear potential, and that potential is energized by the secrets each family member keeps...In this way, Acampora allows us to rethink who holds power in a family—or in a community, or society...Her distant but detailed appraisal of her characters makes us consider the suburbs worthy of our attention once again...Perhaps these towns are not just sleepy places where people escape the social and professional pressures of big cities...Perhaps, instead, they are the headquarters from which silent puppets control the way we see the world...The Hundred Waters is a fast read that moves ever faster the deeper Louisa and Sylvie head down their suburban rabbit hole...When I reached the novel’s haunting conclusion, I got the eerie sense I hadn’t taken a breath in a long while.
Wang Xiaobo, trans. by Yan Yan
PositivePloughsharesThere is an immediacy to the account that raises the question of whether we should view Wang Er as a stand-in for the author, Wang Xiaobo himself. I couldn’t help but read this novel that way, not just because the book’s author and protagonist share a name, but also because so many parts of the work had the tone and style of a geometric proof, a legal document ... Golden Age has long been admired by Chinese readers for its clever take on sexual rebellion, and its innovative voice and narrative style deserve merit as well. By using the language of the state to highlight the absurdity of their laws, Xiaobo made a satire that is both amusing and effective.
