Strange Beasts of China

Written by Yan Ge
Translated by Jeremy Tiang

Part detective story, part metaphysical enquiry, Strange Beasts of China engages existential questions of identity, humanity, love and morality with whimsy and stylistic verve.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 240

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WINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN AWARD
RUNNER-UP, 2021 WARWICK PRIZE FOR WOMEN IN TRANSLATION

‘All we have are stories.’

In the city of Yong’an, an amateur cryptozoologist is commissioned to uncover the stories of its fabled beasts. These creatures — with their greenish stomachs or gills or strange birthmarks — live alongside humans in near-inconspicuousness, some with ancient forbears, others engineered as artificial breeds.

Guided – and often misguided – by her elusive university professor, and his scrappy student sidekick Zhong Liang, our narrator finds herself on a mission to track down each species. And as she blunders from one implausible situation to the next, she comes one step closer to revealing her own inner beast…