Sandalwood Death

Sandalwood Death (Chinese: 檀香刑) is a 2001 novel by Nobel prize-winning author Mo Yan.[1] The English translation of the book was released in 2013 by the University of Oklahoma Press.[2]

Sandalwood Death

First edition (Chinese)
Author	Mo Yan
Original title	檀香刑
Published	2001
Published in English	2013

Plot summary

Opera singer Sun Bing, a leader of the Boxer Rebellion is sentenced to death for attacking at the hands of his daughter's father-in-law, an executioner known for killing by "sandalwood death," a slow method of punishment.[3]

In his author's note, Yan writes that he had difficulty telling friends what his book was about, eventually electing to tell them it was "all about sound."[4]

References

1. "Mo Yan, Chinese author". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
2. "Press Release: MO YAN WINS THE 2012 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE | Chinese Literature Today". www.ou.edu. University of Oklahoma Press. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
3. Buruma, Ian (31 January 2013). "Folk Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
4. "Fiction Book Review: Sandalwood Death by Mo Yan, trans. from the Chinese by Howard Goldblatt . Univ. of Oklahoma, $24.95 (424p) ISBN 978-0-8061-4339-2". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 8 December 2018.