Frog

Synopsis

Frog (Chinese: 蛙; pinyin: Wā) is a novel by Mo Yan, first released in 2009. The novel is about Gugu (姑姑 "paternal aunt"), the aunt of "Tadpole", the novel's narrator. Gugu performs various abortions after the One Child Policy is introduced. The novel discusses both the reasons why the policy was implemented and its consequences. It was translated into English by Howard Goldblatt (Chinese: 葛浩文), translator of contemporary Chinese literature and former research professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Notre Dame. He served as Mo Yan's longtime English translator. In Mandarin Chinese the word for frog, 蛙 (wā), sounds similar to the sound made by a baby (娃 wā), and the narrator's name means "tadpole". Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the conflicts between the government abortion planners, who believe that they are doing the right thing, and the prospective parents makes Frog a "startlingly dramatic book". Steven Moore of The Washington Post wrote that since the novel includes scenes of anguish, Frog "is no polemic supporting the necessary if heartless one-child policy."

Text license: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Details

Type

Book

Release date

January 1, 2009

Created by

Mo Yan

Countries

People's Republic of China