The Explosion Chronicles

A strange, satirical, funny, difficult but rewarding novel chronicling the growth of a tiny village into a megalopolis within the span of fifty years. This is accomplished by scheming, theft and prostition carried out by the Kong family and their associates. The narrative is not that difficult to follow but the author uses allegory and magic realism liberally. I would really like to know more about the satirical elements of how he was using the allegory to express his fears about the growth of modern China as I am not that knowledgeable either about China or Chinese literature. I did, however, think that this was a worthwhile, highly thought provoking novel.