Yu Hua. In December last year, Yu Hua was interviewed by the famous literary magazine The Paris Review and published in its "Writer's Interview" column, becoming the first Chinese writer to appear in this periodical.
In addition to the interview, The Paris Review asked Yu Hua for a recommended reading list, a new series they are launching called "Syllabi (Outline)". Yu Hua gave a list of 15 short stories** and 11 novellas** that he gave to his students during his class at Beijing Normal University.
His reasons for recommending it are very succinct but wonderful. If you want to learn to write, or want to get a quick overview of the "highlights" of these books in his eyes, then the reviews at the back of the list are a must-read.
Yu Hua's book list for students
Short story**(15 parts).
1.Halldor Kiljan Laxness, "Saga úr Síldinni" (Black Carp)2Franz Kafka, In the Penal Colony
franz kafka, “in the penal colony”3.Jorge Luis Borges, "The South" 4Isaac Bashevis Singh "Jimpel the Fool".
isaac bashevis singer, “gimpel the fool”5.William Trevor "Derailment".
william trevor, “a bit on the side”6.João Guimar Es Rosa, "The Third Bank of the River" 7Su Tong, "Watermelon Boats"8Margaret Yourcenar, "The Adventure of the King Buddha".
marguerite yourcenar, “how wang fo was s**ed”9.John Cheever, "Goodbye, My Brother"10Russell Banks, "The Moor" 11Gabriel García Márquez, "Tuesday Naest", "Tuesday Siesta" 12Stephen Crane, "The Open Boat" 13Bruno Schulz, "Birds" 14Edgar Allan Poe, "The Purloined Letter" 15O. Henry, "The Gift of the Magi", o henry, “the gift of the magi”Novella**(11 parts) 1Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea2Gabriel García Márquez, No One Writes to The Colonel3James Joyce, "The Dead" 4Anton Chekhov, "The Steppe" 5Guy de Maupassant, "The Ball of Fat" 6Yasunari Kawabata, "Onsen Yado" (Hot-Spring Inn) 7Higuchi Kazuha "Childhood Sweethearts" Ichiyo Higuchi, "Child's play” 8.Julio Cortázar, "The Southern Thruway" 9Ian McEwan, on Chesil Beach10Friedrich Dürrenmatt, The Judge and His Hangman11François Mauriac, A Kiss for the LeperYu Hua's testimonialYu Hua said in the interview that remember not to focus narrowly on the reading list: "Literature is not the only thing in my life. I encourage my students to think the same way. Recently, I told one of them,'We'll meet tomorrow afternoon to talk about the story you wrote'He said'Professor, I'm going clubbing tonight. I said,'Well, have fun. "