Beijing Coma

A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Literary
Cover of the book Beijing Coma by Ma Jian, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ma Jian ISBN: 9781429937214
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication: May 27, 2008
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Language: English
Author: Ma Jian
ISBN: 9781429937214
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication: May 27, 2008
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Language: English

Dai Wei has been unconscious for almost a decade. A medical student and a pro-democracy protestor in Tiananmen Square in June 1989, he was struck by a soldier's bullet and fell into a deep coma. As soon as the hospital authorities discovered that he had been an activist, his mother was forced to take him home. She allowed pharmacists access to his body and sold his urine and his left kidney to fund special treatment from Master Yao, a member of the outlawed Falun Gong sect. But during a government crackdown, the Master was arrested, and Dai Wai's mother—who had fallen in love with him—lost her mind.

As the millennium draws near, a sparrow flies through the window and lands on Dai Wei's naked chest, a sign that he must emerge from his coma. But China has also undergone a massive transformation while Dai Wei lay unconscious. As he prepares to take leave of his old metal bed, Dai Wei realizes that the rich, imaginative world afforded to him as a coma patient is a startling contrast with the death-in-life of the world outside.

At once a powerful allegory of a rising China, racked by contradictions, and a seminal examination of the Tiananmen Square protests, Beijing Coma is Ma Jian's masterpiece. Spiked with dark wit, poetic beauty, and deep rage, this extraordinary novel confirms his place as one of the world's most significant living writers.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Dai Wei has been unconscious for almost a decade. A medical student and a pro-democracy protestor in Tiananmen Square in June 1989, he was struck by a soldier's bullet and fell into a deep coma. As soon as the hospital authorities discovered that he had been an activist, his mother was forced to take him home. She allowed pharmacists access to his body and sold his urine and his left kidney to fund special treatment from Master Yao, a member of the outlawed Falun Gong sect. But during a government crackdown, the Master was arrested, and Dai Wai's mother—who had fallen in love with him—lost her mind.

As the millennium draws near, a sparrow flies through the window and lands on Dai Wei's naked chest, a sign that he must emerge from his coma. But China has also undergone a massive transformation while Dai Wei lay unconscious. As he prepares to take leave of his old metal bed, Dai Wei realizes that the rich, imaginative world afforded to him as a coma patient is a startling contrast with the death-in-life of the world outside.

At once a powerful allegory of a rising China, racked by contradictions, and a seminal examination of the Tiananmen Square protests, Beijing Coma is Ma Jian's masterpiece. Spiked with dark wit, poetic beauty, and deep rage, this extraordinary novel confirms his place as one of the world's most significant living writers.

More books from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Cover of the book The Bees by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Poems by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Streets in Their Own Ink by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Catalina by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Not All of Us Are Saints by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Slaves in the Family by Ma Jian
Cover of the book The Disordered Mind by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Oranges by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Moominpappa's Memoirs by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Suddenly, a Knock on the Door by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Blood and Politics by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties by Ma Jian
Cover of the book The Visible Man by Ma Jian
Cover of the book Doing the Devil's Work by Ma Jian
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy