Awards and Critical Reaction
Despite Jiang's stated refusal to attend any awards ceremonies or participate in any publicity activities, Wolf Totem has received more than 10 literary prizes, as well as other recognitions, including:
- Named as one of the "Ten Best Chinese-language Books of 2004" by international newsweekly Yazhou Zhoukan
- Nominee for the 2nd "21st Century Ding Jun Semiannual Literary Prize" in 2005
- Recipient of the first Man Asian Literary Prize, November 2007
However, Wolf Totem has also been the subject of several criticisms. German sinologist Wolfgang Kubin described the book as "fascist" for its depiction and treatment of the farmers. Later, Pankaj Mishra, reviewing the English translation for The New York Times, described Jiang's writing as "full of set-piece didacticism."
Read more about this topic: Wolf Totem
Famous quotes containing the words critical and/or reaction:
“If our entertainment culture seems debased and unsatisfying, the hope is that our children will create something of greater worth. But it is as if we expect them to create out of nothing, like God, for the encouragement of creativity is in the popular mind, opposed to instruction. There is little sense that creativity must grow out of tradition, even when it is critical of that tradition, and children are scarcely being given the materials on which their creativity could work”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“More and more, when faced with the world of men, the only reaction is one of individualism. Man alone is an end unto himself. Everything one tries to do for the common good ends in failure.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)