“Selected Stories by Xuemo” is a collection of stories set on the Silk Road exploring love, faith, life and death. The first three stories depict the lives and relationships of outsiders in rural villages, and offer a contemporary perspective on the impact of rumour, pain and suffering. The final novella is a survival story of two young women journeying through the desert accompanied by camels and dholes.

These tales are a bridge to the novels by the author Xue Mo. Xue Mo’s writing is deeply influenced by his native roots in Gansu province and captures the essence of traditional Chinese culture. Xue Mo is known as a spiritual writer whose work presents an alternative lifestyle for people today. His distinctive style combines hallucinatory realism with the depiction of the harsh reality of rural life, and the inner worlds of Chinese people. His work has enjoyed extensive media coverage and critical acclaim in China, and is considered a quintessential example of literature from the western provinces.

“Selected Stories by Xuemo” has been translated into over twenty languages. This English version is translated by Sinologist Nicky Harman. The Guardian newspaper published one story – "Old Man Xinjiang" – in their collection of five top short stories from contemporary China.

Sarah Lam