The Garlic Ballads
1988 novel
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The Garlic Ballads (Chinese: 天堂蒜薹之歌) is a 1988 novel by Nobel Prize–winning author Mo Yan. The book is about the 1987 garlic glut.[1]
First US edition (published by Viking Press) | |
| Author | Mo Yan |
|---|---|
| Original title | 天堂蒜薹之歌 |
| Language | Chinese |
| Publication date | 1988 |
The novel was in fall 1987.[2]: 133 It was published by the People's Liberation Army Publishing House.[2]: 132 Unhappy with some of the editorial cuts, Mo Yan restored these in a 1988 Taiwan edition of the novel.[2]: 133
It was withdrawn from sale in China in 1989.[2]: 132 In 1993, the ban on its sale in China was reversed.[2]: 133 The 1993 edition removed an ironic prefatory Joseph Stalin quote, and adds a new final chapter.[2]: 133 It also includes a preface stating, "The ultimate goal in writing this kind of novel is to hope that the phenomena it describes does not become a model for real life."[2]: 133
