I'm getting ready to submit an order to WL.com (first time I've used them) for a few books. I'm hoping they really do have Chen's novel, which all other book sites are listing but not stocking. The order consists of:

• 陈丹燕的《慢船去中国(简妮)》 Chen Danyan's "Slow Boat to China—Jenny", the sequel to a first book about Shanghainese history and identity told through the story of the daughter of a fallen comprador family. I've been to see Chen speak a couple of times, and I like her focus on local history.
• 王朔的《顽主》，《千万别把我当人》 Wang Shuo's "Masters of Mischief" on recommendation of Brendan and "No Man's Land/Don't Dare Call Me Human" from the Chinese Forums, because I didn't like 黄金时代. Having seen Wang Shuo compared to Bukowski of late makes me wonder if I'll ever like him, though. Maybe for his cerebral prose, but probably not for his subject matter.
• 莫言的《什么气味最美好》、《天堂蒜薹之歌》 Mo Yan's "What's The Most Perfect Scent" and "The Garlic Ballads" because he just won the Newman Prize for Chinese Lit (awarded, entirely coincidentally, by the school I'll be getting my MEd through soon).

It's clear that I'm pretty much in the grip of the North-eastern literary circles' hegemony. Are there any good Southern authors to recommend? Maybe I need to dip back into wuxia novels...

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