{"product_id":"9780312424794","title":"The Noodle Maker: A Novel - Ma Jian","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eThe Noodle Maker: A Novel\u003c\/u\u003e by Ma Jian\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFormat: Trade Paperback\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePublished by Picador, 2006\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom Mi Jian, the highly acclaimed Chinese dissident, comes a satirical novel about the absurdities of life in a post-Tiananmen China.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo men meet for dinner each week. Over the course of one of these drunken evenings, the writer recounts the stories he would write, had he the courage: a young man buys an old kiln and opens a private crematorium, delighting in his ability to harass the corpses of police officers and Party secretaries, while swooning to banned Western music; a heartbroken actress performs a public suicide by stepping into the jaws of a wild tiger, watched nonchalantly by her ex-lover. Extraordinary characters inspire him, their lives pulled and pummeled by fate and politics, as if they are balls of dough in the hands of an all-powerful noodle maker.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMa Jian's satirical masterpiece allows us a humorous, yet profound, glimpse of those struggling to survive under a system that dictates their every move.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csmall\u003eProduct image is for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product offered for sale.\u003c\/small\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Picador, 2006","offers":[{"title":"The Noodle Maker: A Novel \/ Very Good","offer_id":50577840210212,"sku":"9780312424794VG","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0714\/9951\/4148\/files\/public_4694772b-5fab-4846-83c7-b30a63320518.jpg?v=1781790713","url":"https:\/\/brookingsbooks.com\/products\/9780312424794","provider":"Brookings Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}