Beijing Coma

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.

Review :
"One of the most important and courageous voices in international literature." --Gao Xingjian, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature “The cumulative power of the scenes is nearly overwhelming...Images arise in constant counterpart to the political history and deepen the dramatic recollections of a murderous and heroic time.”—Alan Cheuse, "National Public Radio "“Indelible…for all its savagery, “Beijing Coma” is one of the most optimistic novels I’ve encountered in a long time.”—"New York Times Book Review "“Powerful. . . In the wonderful translation by Flora Drew (the author's wife and translator of his other works), the memories of a tremendous moment in the history of this vast, ungraspable place become grounded in a narrative that encompasses almost all that writing can offer.”—"The Nation "“Ma Jian has accomplished something extremely difficult. That is, he has created a work of art that functions simultaneously as literature and call to action….You wish that copies of this book could be distributed along the "The cumulative power of the scenes is nearly overwhelming...Images arise in constant counterpart to the political history and deepen the dramatic recollections of a murderous and heroic time."--Alan Cheuse, "National Public Radio ""Indelible...for all its savagery, "Beijing Coma" is one of the most optimistic novels I've encountered in a long time."--"New York Times Book Review ""Powerful. . . In the wonderful translation by Flora Drew (the author's wife and translator of his other works), the memories of a tremendous moment in the history of this vast, ungraspable place become grounded in a narrative that encompasses almost all that writing can offer."--"The Nation ""Ma Jian has accomplished something extremely difficult. That is, he has created a work of art that functions simultaneously as literature and call to action....You wish that copies of this book could be distributed along the route of the Olympic torch's progress toward the upcoming Beijing games, an event that might not be taking place had the world not succumbed to the seductions of forgetfulness--the same dangers and temptations that Ma Jian's hero, and his novel, struggle so valiantly to resist."--Francine Prose, "New York"" Review of Books ""[A] breathtaking novel...Part of the genius of this novel lies in Ma Jian's ability to place moments of almost slapstick comedy in scenes of true gravity...Richly textured and finely balanced...Once in a while-perhaps every ten years, or even a generation--a novel comes along that profoundly questions the way we look at the world, and at ourselves. Beijing Coma is a poetic examination not just of a country at a defining moment in its history, but of theuniversal right to remember and to hope. It is, in every sense, a landmark work of fiction." --Tash Aw," The Telegraph ""The book is a huge achievement, mixing imagination and fact...finely written and translated, with beautifully controlled interaction between the actors, the book's account of life and love in the square in 1989 brings out the complexity of the movement that reached well beyond the traditional description of it as a pro-democracy revolt." --Jonathan Fenby, "The Times ""Monumental...The narrative of "Beijing Coma" extends to the late 1990s. At one point, Dai Wei alludes to the bid for the 2000 Olympics: "Apparently, they sealed up the public latrines before the Olympic chairman visited the area, so that he couldn't smell the stench." That bid failed, but since then the IOC have learned to hold their noses. They're not alone: in 2006 Google agreed to censor all information about the Tiananmen massacre from its China website. This vivid, pungent, often blackly funny book is a mighty gesture of remembrance against the encroaching forces of silence." --James Lasdun, "The Guardian " "["Beijing Coma's"] appearance, just as the giant propaganda juggernaut built in preparation for the Olympic Games looks liable to topple over in the face of global anger over Beijing's record of repression, is an event that should, and will, resonate around the world. It establishes Ma Jian, already the author of three free-spirited books about the post-Mao country which he finally left in 1997, as the Solzhenitsyn of China's amnesiac surge towards superpower status." -Boyd Tonkin, "The Independent " "A vibrant collage of intertwined scenes from Dai Wei's past and presentlife, the novel is simultaneously a large-scale portrait of citizens writhing in the grip of the party and the state and a strikingly intimate study of the fragility of the body and the persistence of self and memory." --Chandrahas Choudhury, "The Observer " "The characters in Ma Jian's novel talk of oppressed Tibetans, of foreign television crews in Beijing, of hosting the Olympics and of human rights. Beijing Coma sometimes sounds as up to date as next month's news, but it's much more than fictionalised documentary. Epic in scope but intimate in feeling, it uses one man's life to tell the story of China in the latter part of the 20th century...This magnificent novel generously invites us to improve our understanding in many ways." -Tom Deveson, "The Times""""Ma Jian's powerful Beijing Coma is an instructive novel to read during the Olympics. Written by a Chinese dissident, Coma deals with the massacre at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, when tanks rolled over students and their demand for more freedom."--"USA Today ""Beijing Coma's descriptions of life under Mao and the Gang of Four, and of the events leading up to the June 4 massacre, are powerfully engrossing passages of narrative, and a moving testament to a history that the Party powers would prefer to forget."--"Newsweek International ""Enthralling."--"Dallas"" Morning News ""Superb."--"Charleston"" Post and Courier ""At once tragic, darkly humorous and deeply sad, "Beijing Coma "is a monumental work."-"St. Petersburg"" Times "Praise for Ma Jian: "One of the most important and courageous voices in international literature." --Gao Xingjian, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature "Both in[Ma's] personal courage and resolution, and in the truth-telling majesty of Beijing Coma - his epic novel of the Tiananmen Square massacre and its aftermath, right up the building of the Olympic Stadium on land snatched from thousands of evicted citizens - Ma looks to me like a true successor to the author of Cancer Ward and The First Circle."--"Independent London" "Indelible...for all its savagery, "Beijing Coma" is one of the most optimistic novels I've encountered in a long time."--"New York Times Book Review""" "Powerful. . . In the wonderful translation by Flora Drew (the author's wife and translator of his other works), the memories of a tremendous moment in the history of this vast, ungraspable place become grounded in a narrative that encompasses almost all that writing can offer."--"The Nation" "" "Ma Jian has accomplished something extremely difficult. That is, he has created a work of art that functions simultaneously as literature and call to action....You wish that copies of this book could be distributed along the route of the Olympic torch's progress toward the upcoming Beijing games, an event that might not be taking place had the world not succumbed to the seductions of forgetfulness--the same dangers and temptations that Ma Jian's hero, and his novel, struggle so valiantly to resist."--Francine Prose, "New York"" Review of Books" "[A] breathtaking novel...Part of the genius of this novel lies in Ma Jian's ability to place moments of almost slapstick comedy in scenes of true gravity...Richly textured and finely balanced...Once in a while-perhaps every ten years, or even a generation--a novel comes along that profoundly questions the way we look at the world, and at ourselves. Beijing Coma is a poetic examination not just of a country at a defining moment in its history, but of the universal right to remember and to hope. It is, in every sense, a landmark work of fiction." --Tash Aw," The Telegraph " "The book is a huge achievement, mixing imagination and fact...finely written and translated, withbeautifully controlled interaction between the actors, the book's account of life and love in the square in 1989 brings out the complexity of the movement that reached well beyond the traditional description of it as a pro-democracy revolt." --Jonathan Fenby, "The Times" "Monumental...The narrative of "Beijing Coma" extends to the late 1990s. At one point, Dai Wei alludes to the bid for the 2000 Olympics: "Apparently, they sealed up the public latrines before the Olympic chairman visited the area, so that he couldn't smell the stench." That bid failed, but since then the IOC have learned to hold their noses. They're not alone: in 2006 Google agreed to censor all information about the Tiananmen massacre from its China website. This vivid, pungent, often blackly funny book is a mighty gesture of remembrance against the encroaching forces of silence." --James Lasdun, "The Guardian " "["Beijing Coma's"] appearance, just as the giant propaganda juggernaut built in preparation for the Olympic Games looks liable to topple over in the face of global anger over Beijing's record of repression, is an event that should, and will, resonate around the world. It establishes Ma Jian, already the author of three free-spirited books about the post-Mao country which he finally left in 1997, as the Solzhenitsyn of China's amnesiac surge towards superpower status." -Boyd Tonkin, "The Independent " "A vibrant collage of intertwined scenes from Dai Wei's past and present life, the novel is simultaneously a large-scale portrait of citizens writhing in the grip of the party and the state and a strikingly intimate study of the fragility of the body and the persistence of self and memory."--Chandrahas Choudhury, "The Observer " "The characters in Ma Jian's novel talk of oppressed Tibetans, of foreign television crews in Beijing, of hosting the Olympics and of human rights. Beijing Coma sometimes sounds as up to date as next month's news, but it's much more than fictionalised documentary. Epic in scope but intimate in feeling, it uses one man's life to tell the story of China in the latter part of the 20th century...This magnificent novel generously invites us to improve our understanding in many ways." -Tom Deveson, "The Times" """Ma Jian's powerful Beijing Coma is an instructive novel to read during the Olympics. Written by a Chinese dissident, Coma deals with the massacre at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, when tanks rolled over students and their demand for more freedom."--"USA Today" "" "Beijing Coma's descriptions of life under Mao and the Gang of Four, and of the events leading up to the June 4 massacre, are powerfully engrossing passages of narrative, and a moving testament to a history that the Party powers would prefer to forget."--"Newsweek International" "" "Enthralling."--"Dallas"" Morning News" "Superb."--"Charleston"" Post and Courier" "At once tragic, darkly humorous and deeply sad, "Beijing Coma "is a monumental work."-"St. Petersburg"" Times" Praise for Ma Jian: "One of the most important and courageous voices in international literature." --Gao Xingjian, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature "Both in [Ma's] personal courage and resolution, and in the truth-telling majesty of Beijing Coma - his epic novel of the Tiananmen Square massacre and its aftermath, right up the building of the Olympic Stadium onland snatched from thousands of evicted citizens - Ma looks to me like a true successor to the author of Cancer Ward and The First Circle."--"Independent London" Praise in the UK for Ma Jian's "Beijing Coma": "The book is a huge achievement, mixing imagination and fact...finely written and translated, with beautifully controlled interaction between the actors, the book's account of life and love in the square in 1989 brings out the complexity of the movement that reached well beyond the traditional description of it as a pro-democracy revolt." --Jonathan Fenby, "The Times" "[A] breathtaking novel...Part of the genius of this novel lies in Ma Jian's ability to place moments of almost slapstick comedy in scenes of true gravity...Richly textured and finely balanced...Once in a while-perhaps every ten years, or even a generation--a novel comes along that profoundly questions the way we look at the world, and at ourselves. "Beijing Coma" is a poetic examination not just of a country at a defining moment in its history, but of the universal right to remember and to hope. It is, in every sense, a landmark work of fiction." --Tash Aw, "The Telegraph " "Monumental...The narrative of "Beijing Coma" extends to the late 1990s. At one point, Dai Wei alludes to the bid for the 2000 Olympics: "Apparently, they sealed up the public latrines before the Olympic chairman visited the area, so that he couldn't smell the stench." That bid failed, but since then the IOC have learned to hold their noses. They're not alone: in 2006 Google agreed to censor all information about the Tiananmen massacre from its China website. This vivid, pungent, often blackly funny book is a mighty gesture of remembrance against the encroaching forces of silence." --James Lasdun, "The Guardian " "["Beijing Coma's"] appearance, just as the giant propaganda juggernaut built inpreparation for the Olympic Games looks liable to topple over in the face of global anger over Beijing's record of repression, is an event that should, and will, resonate around the world. It establishes Ma Jian, already the author of three free-spirited books about the post-Mao country which he finally left in 1997, as the Solzhenitsyn of China's amnesiac surge towards superpower status." -Boyd Tonkin, "The Independent " "A vibrant collage of intertwined scenes from Dai Wei's past and present life, the novel is simultaneously a large-scale portrait of citizens writhing in the grip of the party and the state and a strikingly intimate study of the fragility of the body and the persistence of self and memory." --Chandrahas Choudhury, "The Observer " "The characters in Ma Jian's novel talk of oppressed Tibetans, of foreign television crews in Beijing, of hosting the Olympics and of human rights. Beijing Coma sometimes sounds as up to date as next month's news, but it's much more than fictionalised documentary. Epic in scope but intimate in feeling, it uses one man's life to tell the story of China in the latter part of the 20th century...This magnificent novel generously invites us to improve our understanding in many ways." -Tom Deveson, "The Times "Praise for Ma Jian: "One of the most important and courageous voices in international literature." --Gao Xingjian, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature Praise in the UK for Ma Jian's "Beijing Coma": "[A] breathtaking novel...Part of the genius of this novel lies in Ma Jian's ability to place moments of almost slapstick comedy in scenes of true gravity...Richly textured and finely balanced...Once in a while-perhaps every ten years, or even a generation--a novel comes along that profoundly questions the way we look at the world, and at ourselves. "Beijing Coma" is a poetic examination not just of a country at a defining moment in its history, but of the universal right to remember and to hope. It is, in every sense, a landmark work of fiction." --Tash Aw, "The Telegraph " "Monumental...The narrative of "Beijing Coma" extends to the late 1990s. At one point, Dai Wei alludes to the bid for the 2000 Olympics: "Apparently, they sealed up the public latrines before the Olympic chairman visited the area, so that he couldn't smell the stench." That bid failed, but since then the IOC have learned to hold their noses. They're not alone: in 2006 Google agreed to censor all information about the Tiananmen massacre from its China website. This vivid, pungent, often blackly funny book is a mighty gesture of remembrance against the encroaching forces of silence." --James Lasdun, "The Guardian " "["Beijing Coma's"] appearance, just as the giant propaganda juggernaut built in preparation for the Olympic Games looks liable to topple over in the face of global anger over Beijing's record of repression, is an event that should, and will, resonate around the world. It establishes Ma Jian, already the author of three free-spirited books about the post-Mao country which he finally left in 1997, as the Solzhenitsyn of China's amnesiac surge towardssuperpower status." -Boyd Tonkin, "The Independent " "A vibrant collage of intertwined scenes from Dai Wei's past and present life, the novel is simultaneously a large-scale portrait of citizens writhing in the grip of the party and the state and a strikingly intimate study of the fragility of the body and the persistence of self and memory." --Chandrahas Choudhury, "The Observer " "The characters in Ma Jian's novel talk of oppressed Tibetans, of foreign television crews in Beijing, of hosting the Olympics and of human rights. Beijing Coma sometimes sounds as up to date as next month's news, but it's much more than fictionalised documentary. Epic in scope but intimate in feeling, it uses one man's life to tell the story of China in the latter part of the 20th century...This magnificent novel generously invites us to improve our understanding in many ways." -Tom Deveson, "The Times "Praise for Ma Jian: "One of the most important and courageous voices in international literature." --Gao Xingjian, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature