Top Books in Chinese Reading Community 2020
Happy reading friends! we are now two months into 2021, but it's never too late to look back at last year. Today let's look together at the reading community report from my favorite website douban.com, where they summarized the top books of 2020.
MOST VIEWED BOOKS OF 2020
On the Most Viewed Books of 2020, the most noticeable book to me is Fragments: A Writer's Journey by Elena Ferrante. Elena Ferrante is the author of The Neapolitan Novels. This is a memoir, a collection of letters and interviews, where the author talks about writing, femininity, family, and history, also has the deleted paragraphs from her other books.
Another book that interests me is Fly Already, by Israeli author Etgar Keret, who’s also a scriptwriter for films and television. This book is his short story collection, lot of the stories happen in bizarre striations and places, and you can never expect the endings.
full list of MOST VIEWED BOOKS OF 2020
把自己作为方法/ THE SELF AS METHOD by [CN] 项飙 Xiang Biao
夜晚的潜水艇/ SUBMARINE AT NIGHT by [CN] 陈春城 Chen Chuncheng
RETOUR À REIMS/ RETURNING TO REIMS by [FR] Didier Eribon
소지/ BURNING PAPERS by [S.KR] Lee Chang Dong
走出唯一真理观/ OUT OF THE EXCLUSIVE TRUTH by [CN] 陈嘉映 Chen Jiaying
LA FRANTUMAGLIA/ FRAGMENTS by [IT] Elena Ferrante
失落的卫星/ Among the Stans by [CN] 刘子超 Liu Zichao
תקלה בקצה הגלקסיה/ FLY ALREADY by [IL] Etgar Keret
CULTURAL AMNESIA: NOTES IN THE MARGIN OF MY TIME by [AU] Clive James
OPOWIADANIA BIZARNE/ BIZARRE STORIES by [PL] Olga Tokarczuk
TOP RATED BOOKS OF 2020
The top rated books list is a mixture of different genres, including books written in Chinese and translated books. They are the books that got the highest ratings from the community but were not necessarily published in 2020. In fact, some of these books were published quite a long time ago. This is the most interesting list on the report, in my opinion, so let's dive more into it.
No.1 THE ART OF MONDO by [US] Mondo Company
It's a collection of the art of Mondo company, from their screen printed posters for films and TV shows, to their comics and other designs. It is a book that better for us to visually enjoying than talking about it.
No.2 THE COMING OF THE THIRD REICH by [UK] Richard Evans
A historical nonfiction and a study of Germany before the Second World War. It studies the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazis. Which is, unfortunately, a very relative topic of today.
No.3 KNOW MY NAME by [US] Chanel Miller
This is a well-deserved book on this list. Chanel Miller, an artist and a writer based in San Francisco, was the victim of the Stanford sexual assault case. For the longest time, she was known by Emily Doe on the media to protect her identity.
In this book, she reclaimed her identity by using her real name, which led us relived her traumatized experiences and the aftermath. The book shows you how much courage you need to fight for yourself in the current justice system even when you have physical evidence and witnesses.
I have read this book in February and loved it dearly.
No.4 PATRIARCHY AND CAPITALISM by [JP] Chizuko Ueno
This is a nonfiction about women's living situation in Japan. How they are exploited under the patriarchal society and traditional values. by the format of unpaid work. Although the book is talking about Japan's society, I believe it applies to many other countries as well.
No. 5 UZUMAKI by [JP] Junji Ito
This is a horror manga about a group of people live in a plagued city, their disordered life, and the cursed events they’re experiencing.
This manga series has been adapted into TV shows, movies, and even video games.
No.6 FRAGMENTS: A WRITER'S JOURNEY by [IT] Elena Ferrante
No.7 A WILD CHILD’S GUIDE TO ENDANGERED ANIMALS by [UK] Millie Marrotta
An art book illustrated 43 kinds of endangered species from all around the world.
No.8 目光 EYESIGHT by [CN] 陶勇 Dr. Tao Yong
Dr. Tao Yong is an eye doctor and the victim of a hate crime towards doctors. On January 20th, 2020, a criminal run into Dr. Tao’s hospital with a knife, hurt Dr. Tao’s left hand as well as other parts of his body. this book was written after the crime, when Dr. Tao found out he can’t perform surgery anymore for the rest of his life, due to the injury of his hand. It’s about his thoughts on life and kindness, and why he chose to be a doctor. I’ve watched some interviews with Dr. Tao, and every time I’m moved by his kindness to his patient and his understanding of the situation. He has to give up performing surgeries now, but he didn’t stop being a doctor, just shifted his focus more onto medical studies in his field.
No.9 MARCOVALDO by [IT] Italo Calvino
It’s a novel about stories telling from the perspective of a fictional unskilled worker in an industrial city in northern Italy. Italo Calvino’s work emphasis the relationships between humans and cities, how people are coping with the ever-changing modern cities in their daily lives.
No.10 THE RINGS OF SATURN by [DE] W.G. Sabald
It’s a novel about one man’s reflection on things when he’s on a walking tour across the east coast of England. Topics cover aspects of nature, art, history, and many more.
TOP 10 CHINESE FICTIONS OF 2020
Top 10 Chinese Fiction is a very straight forward list of the highest rated fictions books written in Chinese. None of the books have been translated to other languages yet. So here I will briefly talk about the two books I have my eyes on for the Invisible Cities Project.
No.2 秋园 QIUYUAN by 杨本芬 Yang Benfen
This book is a novel about the narrator listening to her grandmother’s telling the story of her grandmother’s mom Qiuyuan. It's about the life of ordinary lives of Chinese women, how they struggled to live in difficult times like a piece of floating wood in the water.
No.8 南货店 GERENAL STORE by 张忌 Zhang Ji
This is historical fiction, the protagonist works in a general store in southern china, observes different people’s living philosophy during hard times, and connect the goods they are selling with the era.
full list of TOP 10 CHINESE FICTION OF 2020
English titles are from my own "limited liability" translation
夜晚的潜水艇 SUBMARINE AT NIGHT by [CN] 陈春城 Chen Chuncheng
秋园 QIUYUAN by [CN] 杨本芬
两京十五日 FIFTEEN DAYS IN TWO JING by [CN] 马伯庸
夜行货车 TRUCK AT NIGHT by [CN] 陈映真
逍遥游 GETAWAY by [CN] 班宇
鸳鸯六七四 PAIR SIX, SEVEN and FOUR by [CN] 马家辉
仙症 FAIRY SYNDROME by [CN] 郑执
南货店 GENERAL STORE by [CN] 张忌
流溪 FLOWING RIVER by [CN] 林棹
小行星掉在下午 ASTEROID DROPS IN THE AFTERNOON by [CN] 沈大成
TOP 10 CHINESE NONFICTION OF 2020
Same with the top 10 Chinese Fiction list, the nonfiction list don't have translations in other languages yet.
No.2 她们 HER/THEM by 阎连科 Yan Lianke
This is the popular writer and scholar Yan Lianke’s attempt of writing about his understanding of feminism, which portraits the women’s life around him. I'm both looking forward to the book and afraid of it's gonna be full of mansplaining. But I guess there’s only one way to figure it out.
full list of TOP 10 CHINESE NONFICTION OF 2020
English titles are from my own "limited liability" translation
失落的卫星/ AMONG THE STANS by [CN] 刘子超 Liu Zichao
她们/ HER/THEM by [CN] 阎连科 Yan Lianke
顿悟的时刻/ MOMENT OF EPIPHANY by [CN] 张悦然 Zhang Yueran
在雪山和雪山之间/ BETWEEN SNOW MOUNTAINS by [CN] 乔阳 Qiao Yang
单读/ WE REAS THE WORLD by [CN] 单向空间 Owspace
大山里的小诗人/ LITTLE POETS IN BIG MOUNTAINS by [CN] “是光”的孩子们 It's light
商禽诗全集/ COMPLETE POETRY OF SHANG QIN by [CN] 商禽 Shang Qin
巷里林泉/ INTO THE ALLES by [CN] 故园风雨前 Gu Yuan Feng Yu Qian
长安客/ GUESTS IN CHANGAN by [CN] 北溟鱼 Bei Ming Yu
纵身入山海/ JUMP INTO MOUNTAIN AND SEA by [CN] 库索 Ku Suo
TOP 10 TRANSLATED FICTION OF 2020
Translated books in the Chinese reading community means they are books translated into Chinese from other languages. There are quite some books from different languages and countries on the list, including two books from Japan, two books from Italy, one book from South Korea, Spain, Ireland, Israel, Poland, and Canada. I will introduce some noticeable books on BookTube here.
No.1 烧纸 BURNING PAPERS by Lee Chang Dong
This is a film director and writer Lee Chang-Dong's short story collection. The book writes about a post traumatized South Korea after the Korean War. Focuses on the social changes after industrial development in South Korea.
No.5 NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney
This is a coming-of-age novel about two friends, follows them from high school years until after college.
No. 6 TIES by Domenico Starnone
Story of relationships, family, love, and the consequences of people's actions.
No.10 THE TESTAMENTS by Margret Atwood
This is the sequel of The Handmaids' Tale.
I have tried my best to avoid spoilers of this book, so that's all I know about it.
full list of TOP 10 TRANSLATED FICTION OF 2020
소지/ BURINING PAPERS by [S.KR] Lee Chang Dong
MARCOVALDO by [IT] Italo Calvino
往復書簡 初恋と不倫/ LETTERS by [JP] 坂元裕二 Yuji Sakamoto
REPÚBLICA LUMINOSA/ A Luminous Republic by [ES] Andrés Barba
NORMAL PEOPLE by [IE] Sally Rooney
LACCI/ TIES by [IT] Domenico Starnone
תקלה בקצה הגלקסיה/ FLY ALREADY by [IL] Etgar Keret
坂の途中の家/ THE HOUSE ON THE SLOPE by [JP] 角田光代 Mitsuyo Kakuta
BIEGUNI/ FLIGHTS by [PL] Olga Tokarczuk
THE TESTAMENTS by [CA] Margret Atwood
TOP 10 TRANSLATED NONFICTION OF 2020
Top Translated Nonfiction is another very diverse book list. On this list, there are four books from the US, two books from France, one book from Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the UK.
No.1 RETURNING TO REIMS by Didier Eribon
This book is a reflection and exploration of the history of the author’s family after his father died. It discussed the class system, educational system, the power shifting, and the voting pattern in France when the book was published in 2009.
No.4 THINGS MY SON NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE WORLD by Fredrik Backman
Fredrik Backman is one of my favorite writers, I liked his delightful writing style and his portraits about townspeople.
This book's Chinese title translates into "Don't Argue with Your Mom". It's hilarious if you connect the original meaning of the tile and the Chinese one.
No. 5 READING THE ROMANCE: WOMEN, PATRIARCHY, AND POPULAR LITERATURE by Janice Radway
Published in 1984, this book defending the popular then idea of romance fiction enforces female readers' dependence on men and talks about why romance fiction captivates so many females readers.
No. 9 THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS: SELECTED NONFICTION by Neil Gaiman
This 2016 published book was first translated into Chinese in 2020, it's where Neil Gaiman talks about author-hood, music, travels, storytelling, libraries, and many more aspects of topics in his mind.
full list of TOP 10 TRANSLATED NONFICTION OF 2020
RETOUR À REIMS/ RETURNING TO REIMS by [FR] Didier Eribon
LA FRANTUMAGLIA/ FRAGMENTS by [IT] Elena Ferrante
NIEWIDZIALNA RĘKA/ UNSEEN HAND by [PL] Adam Zagajewski
SAKER MIN SON BEHÖVER VETA OM VÄRLDEN/ THINGS MY SON NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE WORLD by [SE] Fredrik Backman
READING THE ROMANCE：WOMEN, PATRIARCHY AND POPULAR LITERATURE by [US] Janice Radway
LOOKING FOR THE STRANGER by [US] Alice Kaplan
L'AUTRE LANGUE À PORTÉE DE VOIX by [FR] Yves Bonnefoy
UN LONG SAMEDI: ENTRETIENS/ A LONG SATURDAY: CONVERSATIONS by [US] George Steiner, [FR] Laure Adler
THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS by [UK] Neil Gaiman
A POETRY HANDBOOK: A PROSE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND WRITING POETRY by [US] Mary Oliver
There're still many sub-lists on the reading report about individual genres, you can find the full list here.
Looking at popular books in the communities speaking different languages is very interesting to me, especially looking at the books translated into Chinese, some of them not even have an English translation yet. That means there're differences or time lags on picking which books to translate into different languages. Also, it depends on how wide the audiences of certain languages are, and it is related to how many people are learning the languages in China. This leads to a deeper question of language educations in China, especially in the higher education institutes. Not many people are studying other languages besides English, and Japanese and Korean study is getting popular in recent years, but for other languages, how we have people who studied them to search for good books to translate? The question is getting larger and larger, and the answer will be complicated.
Nonetheless, it's a great privilege for us to have so many resources in both the Chinese and English reading community, so we have to seize the opportunities!
Happy reading =)