A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

Yiyun Li

What a revelation. There are some wonderful short stories here - moving, funny, tragic,frightening - set in a modern China which we rarely see in the West. Do read the chilling afterword from the author.

Extract
Mr Shi hasn't been sitting so close to a woman his age since his wife died; even when she was alive, he had never talked this much to her. His eyes feel heavy. Imagine he's traveled half a world to his daughter, to make up for all the talks he denied her when she was younger, but only to find her uninterested in his words. Imagine Madam, a stranger who does not even know his language, listens to him with more understanding.
Parallels
  • The Bride from Odessa by Edgardo Cozarinsky
  • After Rain by William Trevor