商品簡介
In its quest for national identity, international status and validation for the relationships between intellectuals and politics, China has sought the Nobel prize in literature for decades. In 2000, Gao Xingjian won, but China was not to see it; the new Laureate was an exile. Lovell (Chinese literature and history, Queen's College, Cambridge) closely examines the reasoning behind the prize, the efforts the Chinese have made to claim it from 1900 to 1976 and from 1979 to 2000, and why Gao Xingjian got it. In the course of her study, which includes extensive interviews with the people concerned, Lovell finds significant variances in ways of thinking in Sweden and China, finding that the very issues that mark the search may actually be significant impediments to success. The most interesting passages include her analysis of China's intellectual community and its attitude toward the open pursuit. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)