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The Fat Years
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Review
'A thought-provoking novel about China's tomorrow, that reveals the truth about China today.' --Xinran, author of The Good Women of China
'A fascinating tale of China just over the horizon.'
--The New Yorker
`The hottest novel to come out of China this year'
--Time Out, Beijing
`Anyone who wants to understand modern China should read this novel'
--Allan Massie
'The Fat Years remains valid because it is not simply a "what might happen" exercise in futurism. Its central conceit - that collective amnesia overtakes the entire country - is an all-encompassing metaphor for today's looming superpower...a triumph.'
--Observer
'A not-so-veiled satire of the Chinese government's tendency to make dates such as the Tiananmen massacre virtually disappear'
--Financial Times
'Bracing, smart and entertaining'
--Independent
'This creepy novel frightened me several times...because, apart from the missing month, it is mostly true today.'
--Spectator
`An inventive and highly topical novel by Chan Koonchung, is among the first to explore a scenario that much of the world is speculating about today' --Wall Street Journal
'Chan's story is not only absorbing in its own right, it also shines reflected light on the foibles of the West'
--New York Times
'A fascinating tale of China just over the horizon.'
--The New Yorker
`The hottest novel to come out of China this year'
--Time Out, Beijing
`Anyone who wants to understand modern China should read this novel'
--Allan Massie
'The Fat Years remains valid because it is not simply a "what might happen" exercise in futurism. Its central conceit - that collective amnesia overtakes the entire country - is an all-encompassing metaphor for today's looming superpower...a triumph.'
--Observer
'A not-so-veiled satire of the Chinese government's tendency to make dates such as the Tiananmen massacre virtually disappear'
--Financial Times
'Bracing, smart and entertaining'
--Independent
'This creepy novel frightened me several times...because, apart from the missing month, it is mostly true today.'
--Spectator
`An inventive and highly topical novel by Chan Koonchung, is among the first to explore a scenario that much of the world is speculating about today' --Wall Street Journal
'Chan's story is not only absorbing in its own right, it also shines reflected light on the foibles of the West'
--New York Times
Book Description
Banned in China, a Chinese 1984 that holds controversial secrets about both the leaders and the people
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
So if truth is not an option what is left? Well the easy answer is lies or fiction and the latter is what this claims to be. As it is set in the near future it could possibly claim to be science fiction, but it really is not. It is based on real events past and current, that have shaped modern China and presents us with a sort of dystopian land somewhere between `Brave New World' and `The Stepford Wives'.
The plot is that all of China is or appears to be `happy', their ranking in the world `happiness index' has gone from languishing at the bottom of the table to being number one. But all is not well as one man realises everyone seems to have forgotten things like the regular violent and brutal `crackdowns'. There is also another phenomenon in that a whole month, or at least 28 days have gone `missing'. There is no official record of what actually took place and no collective memory either. Further the world economic downturn seems to coincide exactly with the rise of this harmonios golden prosperity for China.
Fang Coadi wants to know what happened and why no-one can remember. He runs into an old friend `Old Chen', who is also happy but cant work out why and one by one we are introduced to new characters and how they are all inter linked. They have some great names both of people and places; my favourites are`Miaomiao' and `Happiness Village Number Two'.
The story contains quite a few monologues which give polar opposite views of the current state of China, these can go on a bit but come across as being well informed though not necessarily enlightening. There is also a bit of a love interest, but all of the sub plots are not really explored thoroughly and a lot of the questions that are posed are not fully answered. This I feel was intentional.
Having said all of that, this was still a really good read, which was compelling in places and is one that you will remember. Chan Koonchung has made a good start to what I hope is a fruitful career and I hope it does get published in China, where I am sure it will have an eager audience.
The plot is that all of China is or appears to be `happy', their ranking in the world `happiness index' has gone from languishing at the bottom of the table to being number one. But all is not well as one man realises everyone seems to have forgotten things like the regular violent and brutal `crackdowns'. There is also another phenomenon in that a whole month, or at least 28 days have gone `missing'. There is no official record of what actually took place and no collective memory either. Further the world economic downturn seems to coincide exactly with the rise of this harmonios golden prosperity for China.
Fang Coadi wants to know what happened and why no-one can remember. He runs into an old friend `Old Chen', who is also happy but cant work out why and one by one we are introduced to new characters and how they are all inter linked. They have some great names both of people and places; my favourites are`Miaomiao' and `Happiness Village Number Two'.
The story contains quite a few monologues which give polar opposite views of the current state of China, these can go on a bit but come across as being well informed though not necessarily enlightening. There is also a bit of a love interest, but all of the sub plots are not really explored thoroughly and a lot of the questions that are posed are not fully answered. This I feel was intentional.
Having said all of that, this was still a really good read, which was compelling in places and is one that you will remember. Chan Koonchung has made a good start to what I hope is a fruitful career and I hope it does get published in China, where I am sure it will have an eager audience.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Since the US dollar collapsed in 2011 China has become the leading world power in 2013. All seems well in that vast country; from being near bottom of the 'World Happiness' list China has become No 1 there as well, the people are happy, unaggressive, apparently unworried by the government clamp down on the internet and newspapers, and totally unaware that somehow a month, February 2011, has been entirely wiped from their memories.
This book is presented as fiction, and there is a story there, sometimes quite moving, but the main body of the work is presented as a series of lectures, on China as it is, as it might be, as it possibly should be. The story concerns several people who do remember the missing month; a friend (the narrator) who does not but comes around to their way of thinking, and a high government official they kidnap and who expounds at length on the Government's views and methods and insists there could be no other way to govern China. There is little in this story about the outside world and there is a whiff of claustrophia about it.
Somehow this works, for me anyway. I was never tempted to give up on it, though it was hard going at times. I came away from the book with, I hope, more understanding of China and Chinese thinking than I had previously.
The question is: Is it better to live in a good (actual) hell or in a fake paradise? A question not answered here, maybe, but how could it be?
A strange book, but certainly very interesting and I'm glad I've read it.
This book is presented as fiction, and there is a story there, sometimes quite moving, but the main body of the work is presented as a series of lectures, on China as it is, as it might be, as it possibly should be. The story concerns several people who do remember the missing month; a friend (the narrator) who does not but comes around to their way of thinking, and a high government official they kidnap and who expounds at length on the Government's views and methods and insists there could be no other way to govern China. There is little in this story about the outside world and there is a whiff of claustrophia about it.
Somehow this works, for me anyway. I was never tempted to give up on it, though it was hard going at times. I came away from the book with, I hope, more understanding of China and Chinese thinking than I had previously.
The question is: Is it better to live in a good (actual) hell or in a fake paradise? A question not answered here, maybe, but how could it be?
A strange book, but certainly very interesting and I'm glad I've read it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
On the surface The Fat Years sounds like an excellent thrilling novel. The world enters a hugh economic downturn and the value of the dollar is slashed, cue western governments turning east. China takes the horns of this downturn and turns into a truely vast global powerhouse. All this happens on the same day...
However some people don't remember it like this, they remember the entire worlds economy colapsing, a month of massive crackdowns in China and then the Chinese goverment announcing a new age with China at the forefront. This novel is the story of the people who remember and what they find. To be honest the characters are a bit odd, they are Chinese so I expect cultural differences but the people who remember are characterised as unhappy, whilst everyone else is in a mild state of euphoria. We also have lots of references to state sponsored (and pirate) Christianity as a calming influence on the masses (Karl Marx and his "Opium for the masses" quote seems quite appropriate). All in all the new China looks like an idylic communist state where people feel that they are free enough. Obviously things are not what they seem...
As the quest to find the lost month continues we have lots of details on how the Chinese communist party has done what they have (to stay in power) and as the story continues less and less happens and the closing interogation just ends up as a lecture. What starts off as a reasonably entertaining story ends up as a lecture on world economics, how the communist party has implemented change on the people to keep them happy and how China has managed to keep the whole world on its side.
I found the look at Chinese culture more entertaining that the main thrust of the story unfortunately.
However some people don't remember it like this, they remember the entire worlds economy colapsing, a month of massive crackdowns in China and then the Chinese goverment announcing a new age with China at the forefront. This novel is the story of the people who remember and what they find. To be honest the characters are a bit odd, they are Chinese so I expect cultural differences but the people who remember are characterised as unhappy, whilst everyone else is in a mild state of euphoria. We also have lots of references to state sponsored (and pirate) Christianity as a calming influence on the masses (Karl Marx and his "Opium for the masses" quote seems quite appropriate). All in all the new China looks like an idylic communist state where people feel that they are free enough. Obviously things are not what they seem...
As the quest to find the lost month continues we have lots of details on how the Chinese communist party has done what they have (to stay in power) and as the story continues less and less happens and the closing interogation just ends up as a lecture. What starts off as a reasonably entertaining story ends up as a lecture on world economics, how the communist party has implemented change on the people to keep them happy and how China has managed to keep the whole world on its side.
I found the look at Chinese culture more entertaining that the main thrust of the story unfortunately.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Lost in translation?
This thriller set in somewhat dystopian, near-future China sounded great. The government cracks down brutally, yet only a few citizens seem to remember. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Charlesworth
just ok
Many of the other reviews have already stated much about the story itself so I won't repeat it. For me the characters were interesting, the description of the culture and party... Read more
Published 3 months ago by L. Davidson
Good fun and thought provoking too
Having checked out the reviews before I started, I was very pleasantly surprised. I found this book a very easy read and one which I didn't want to put down. Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. D. Holley
not as revealing as I'd expected
Maybe I wanted revelations about life living in a modern day communist country. All I 'got' from this was the vague notion that propergander, the media & the institution run... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mad Saint Uden
And they should be scared
When a state is nervous about a piece of journalism, that's one thing - all big institutions have secrets they'd rather keep under the carpet. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Alan Hansen
Sadly just a one joke book
As insightful as `The Fat Years' is, it's unfortunately a one joke book without a satisfactory punchline. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Lewis Cannon
Extremely topical
It is slightly unfortunate that this book was originally published in 2009 and set in 2011, but has only been published in the UK now. Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. Skudder
An intelligent imagining of China's future
In the near future in Beijing, a small group of friends are sure that a month has recently gone missing from China's history, but most of the population don't seem to remember it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by AR
Fiction - or will it be?
An interesting novel, somewhat experimental, that takes place in the not-too-distant future. The story is worryingly familiar: the dollar has been replaced by the Yuan as the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. Baldwin
Interesting in parts but too dry...
It's an intriguing idea: a whole month goes missing and no one seems to remember. Where on earth did the missing month go and who was responsible? Read more
Published 8 months ago by Miss K
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