ISBN: PB: 9780300274035
ISBN: HB: 9780300259636
November 2023
272 pp.
19,6x12,7 cm
PB:
£11.99
QTY:
HB:
£18.99
QTY:
Categories:
Barefoot Doctor
A Novel
A profound, poignant story of a village healer and her community, from one of the world's great contemporary novelists.
In rural Yun Village, herbalist Mrs. Yi lives with her husband in a cottage at the foot of Niulan Mountain, where she gathers herbs to treat the ailments of the villagers by day and studies medicine by night. Sickness and herbs are lovers, she tells her patients, rejoicing when they recover, comforting them when they do not. All the while, she hopes to find a worthy successor to take up her mantle. As curious younger villagers observe Mrs. Yi and begin imitating her work – planting gardens and studying the art of healing – they soon discover that the line dividing life from death is porous, and the mountain is more mysterious than they ever knew.
Drawing on her experiences as a barefoot doctor in her youth, Can Xue returns with a transporting novel that alights in the in-between spaces: between the living and the dead, healer and sick, nature and us.
In rural Yun Village, herbalist Mrs. Yi lives with her husband in a cottage at the foot of Niulan Mountain, where she gathers herbs to treat the ailments of the villagers by day and studies medicine by night. Sickness and herbs are lovers, she tells her patients, rejoicing when they recover, comforting them when they do not. All the while, she hopes to find a worthy successor to take up her mantle. As curious younger villagers observe Mrs. Yi and begin imitating her work – planting gardens and studying the art of healing – they soon discover that the line dividing life from death is porous, and the mountain is more mysterious than they ever knew.
Drawing on her experiences as a barefoot doctor in her youth, Can Xue returns with a transporting novel that alights in the in-between spaces: between the living and the dead, healer and sick, nature and us.
About the author
Can Xue is the pseudonym of celebrated experimental writer Deng Xiaohua, born in 1953 in the city of Changsha. She is the author of "Love in the New Millennium", "I Live in the Slums", and "Five Spice Street", among other books.
Karen Gernant is a professor emerita of Chinese history.
Chen Zeping was a professor emeritus of Chinese linguistics.
Together, they have translated numerous works of Chinese literature.
Karen Gernant is a professor emerita of Chinese history.
Chen Zeping was a professor emeritus of Chinese linguistics.
Together, they have translated numerous works of Chinese literature.