The April 3rd Incident

WhisperToMe:

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'''''The April 3rd Incident''''' is a collection of short stories by [[Yu Hua]], who wrote the stories from 1987 to 1991. The English translation, by Allan H. Barr, was published in 2018 by [[Pantheon (publisher)|Pantheon]]''.<ref name=Kirkus>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2) - print: September 1, 2018.</ref> Barr teaches Chinese at [[Pomona College]].<ref name=Russel>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2) - Updated 12 March 2014</ref>

The stories included are experimental, and [[Publisher's Weekly]] characterizes the shorter ones as having "devastating wit and morbid humor".<ref name=PW>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> [[Kirkus Reviews]] described them as "very post-punk and confrontational".<ref name=Kirkus/> Barr stated that [[Borges]], [[Falkner]], and [[Kafka]] had influenced Yu Hua's writing.<ref name=Kirkus/>

The stories allude to an incident that is never clearly defined, not even in the chapter that shares its name with the collection's title; April 3 happens to be the birthday of Yu Hua.<ref name=Kidd>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> The stories include elements of conspiracies, double-crossing, and characters revealing their true natures. Publisher's Weekly compares the stories to those of [[Italo Calvino]].<ref name=PW/>

==Contents==
In the chapter "The April 3rd Incident" the narrator is is trying to figure out about an incident that he is unclear about.<ref name=Kidd/>

In "Death Chronicle" a truck driver trying to do the morally right thing in a possible hit-and-run incident is perceived by outsiders as having malicious intentions. Ten years prior to the events, he had done a hit-and-run incident,<ref name=PW/> killing two people.<ref name=PW/> He had been one a mountain road that was treacherous for drivers.<ref name=Kirkus/> James Kidd of the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' describes the truck driver as "gruff" and "self-justifying".<ref name=Kidd/>

"A History of Two People" talks about two characters having a shared dream even though one is richer than the other,<ref name=PW/> and one is unaware of the true circumstances of the other due to his own status. Jennifer Rothschild of ''[[Booklist]]'' stated that this shows how two people can progress into different life paths.<ref name=Rothschild>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>

==Reception==
Kidd ranked ''The April 3rd Incident'' five of five stars, and concluded that it "reinforces Yu as China’s boldest and smartest literary agent provocateur."<ref name=Kidd/>

Publisher's Weekly stated that the series would get a positive reception from new readers and people devoted to Yu Hua's works.<ref name=PW/>

Kirkus Reviews stated that "it’s interesting to look back at [Yu Hua's] work when he was at his fiercest."<ref name=Kirkus/>

Rothschild stated that "this challenging collection shows that his literary prowess and mastery were present from the start."<ref name=Rothschild>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>

==References==


==External links==
* ''[https://ift.tt/2PacJOk The April 3rd Incident]'' - [[Penguin Random House]]
* ''[https://ift.tt/2zxp5er The April 3rd Incident]'' - [[Random House]]
[[Category:Chinese fiction]]

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