Books Giveaway! Penguin China Celebrates World Book Day/Night and the BILF Begins

Marilyn Mai | Mar 4, 2011 12:00 pm | 5 comments | 2759 reads

It really is a reading frenzy lately, isn’t it? Yesterday, March 3, was World Book Day, and tomorrow, March 5, is World Book Night, so the good folks over at Penguin China are offering up a lovely set of Penguin Classics to a lucky bibliophilic Beijinger. Just answer the question at the bottom of this post to win!

Meanwhile, the Bookworm International Literary Festival also opens tonight, with authors Paolo Giordano, Guillermo Martinez, Xu Xi and Hong Ying, poet Xi Chuan and journalist Fergal Keane all making an appearance. Wine will flow, glasses will clink (or plastic cups will tap, which is nearly just as festive), and who knows, other famous writers will probably be milling about.

If all the BILF events you were most dying to go to are sold out, and the waiting lists are three miles long, hurry and send us your competition answers, so you at least have a chance to be consoled by a nice sexy stack of literature. (Yes, I just called books sexy. Is that wrong?)

The books:

The question:

If you could rewrite any classic work of literature and have it set in Beijing, which would it be, and why?

Email your answers to marilynmai@thebeijinger.com or leave a comment below. The most convincing answer will earn its writer some nice new additions to their home library.

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tonydice's picture tonydice Submitted by Guest on Mon, 03/07/2011 - 18:26

A Tale of Two Cities

Witless Bei Da student Josh Lyman is having the time of his life, dividing much of his days between vomiting weakly outside Sanlitun’s Pure Girl No 1 and regaling sickened classmates with tales of sexual escapades in Wudaokou’s Lush.

Meanwhile, across town, orphaned migrant worker Lin Fat fends off the unwanted predations of her restaurant-manager boss and serves up a standard bowl of noodles at the Charismatic Noodle House, Fengtai district as she struggles to make ends meet to pay for her younger brother’s education in an unlicensed kindergarten.

With the school facing demolition, Lin is in despair – when a lost and somewhat hungover Lyman takes up a table at the Charismatic and demands some hot broth to mop up the alcohol. Two utterly different people – one totally unique city – but can the two strangers cross their cultural divides and redeem each other… or will Lyman make a crude pass at the waitress before meeting up with his equally charmless bros at Propaganda?

tonydice's picture tonydice Submitted by Guest on Mon, 03/07/2011 - 17:44

Money by Mah Ting Amis

The defining novel of China's 21st Century

Jing Self – oafish, barely literate son of a Sha’anxi Baiju distillery owner – has emerged in the glittering, smoggy spires of Beijing with two things: a bought-and-paid-off degree in filmmaking from Tsinghua Univeristy and a rapacious sense of entitlement.

His godawful career in television advertising for a toxic breast-enlargement product has won him money, acclaim and a front-row pass at the annual Chunwan gala – but it’s not enough.

When he meets Fielding Goodney, an opportunistic US businessman on his uppers looking to suck up as much RMB as he can, it’s a match made in Guomao.

But can Self contain his appetite for ketamine, KTV girls and golf long enough to marry and produce the heir his father’s allowance is conditional upon – or will Goodney’s offer of a Green Card prove too much for the unfilial fool?

Marce Mimica's picture Marce Mimica Submitted by Guest on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 23:47

I'd say "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen would be a great book to re - write in Lao Beijing - maybe in some fancy Hutongs. Who knows? It could be even named "面子 and Prejudice", and all the characters could perfectly be translated to the Chinese society. The social gatherings would be to play Mah Jiang and drink some Baijiu, while the Bennet family is struggling to find some attractive 小伙子 for the girls, who can provide them a small apartment or Siheyuan, and have a fancy, full of fireworks wedding.

The greatest part would be when Lydia runs away, she would be found in Inner Mongolia, and Mr. Wickham, of course, would be death sentenced. So tragic, yet so Beijinger.

siddeman's picture siddeman Submitted by Guest on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 23:25

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. I would interpret it as the tragic yet lust-filled decay of a foreigner who comes to Beijing for fame and fortune, and some easy pick-ups (as I presume many do). He finds himself at the top of his game, frequenting the hottest clubs as listed in the Beijinger and using his wits to conquer many willful Chinese nouvelles riches. But as his hedonistic pursuit continues, building for himself an inner city palace in a courtyard, surrounding himself with the most decadent objects (antiques which he finds at Panjiayuan & cheap yet ever-so-hard-to-bargain silks from Yaxiu-market), our modern-day Dorian is oblivious of the fact that his personality is becoming forever obscured by dreams of becoming even more popular with the Beijing in-crowd... Finally he ends up posting sad, badly spelled & overly erotic classifieds on The Beijinger. Dorian's psychological overturn is reflected externally as his once glorious snapshot (featured in the nightlife section of his favorite Beijing magazine), has gradually turned into a hideous and despiccable figure, bearing resemblance to an evil panda-bear...The end! (off the record: I sort of had that Kro guy from Kro's nest in mind while writing this Smile )

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