Set in 1967, at the peak of the Mao cult, Serve the People! is a beautifully told, wickedly daring story about the forbidden love affair between Liu Lian, the young, pretty wife of a powerful Division Commander in Communist China, and her household's lowly servant, Wu Dawang. When Liu Lian establishes a rule for her orderly that he is to attend to her needs whenever the household's wooden 'Serve the People!' sign is removed from its usual place, the orderly vows to obey. What follows is a remarkable love story and a profound and deliciously comic satire on Mao's famous slogan and the political and sexual taboos of his regime.
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Imprint: Vintage
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Published: 02/12/2021
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ISBN: 9781529113914
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Length: 217 Pages
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RRP: £9.99
Reviews
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One of China's greatest living authors and fiercest satirists
Guardian
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Brilliantly exposes the emptiness of Maoist ideals and the fraudulent ends for which they were used, but also relates a sorrowful tale of compromised relationships and modest hopes left unfulfilled
Publishers Weekly
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A scathing sendup of life in 1960s China during the chaos of the country's Cultural Revolution...a wonderfully biting sature, brimming with absurdity, humor and wit
Los Angeles Times
