Can Xue

Press

Listed below are only some of the press articles and reviews appearing about Can Xue. If you know of other work that should be included in this listing, please contact the site's web master.

Ongoing Can Xue blog in Chinese

2022

Can Xue’s Barefoot Doctor (translated from the Chinese by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping and published by Yale University Press) listed in the “Briefly Noted” section of the October 10, 2022 issue of The New Yorker. 

Shepherd, Alex. “Five Authors We Thought Might Win the Nobel—Including One Who Did,” The Atlantic online, posted October 5, 2022, updated October 6, 2022 with the announcement of the winner. Can Xue listed as one of the five who might win with a discussion of the author’s novel Frontier.  

Shepherd, Alex. “Who Will Win the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature?”, The New Republic, posted October 3, 2022. Can Xue mentioned in the article as a contender again for the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Liebe im neuen Jahrtausend [Love in the New Millennium] by Can Xue, translated from the Chinese into German by Karin Betz, was shortlisted for the  Internationaler Literaturpreis 2022. The award ceremony is to be held January 22, 2022. 

 "Familiarity and the Narrative Ledge: A Review of I Live in the Slums, a New Collection by Can Xue." Review of Can Xue's I Live in the Slums by Julie Cadman-Kim, Michigan Quarterly Review, posted February 25, 2021.  

Can Xue's I Live in the Slums is longlisted for the 2021 Book International Book Prize. Read the statement. The book was translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping and published by Yale University Press. 

 "An island to hold in the palm of your hand: Purple Perilla by Can Xue." Review of Can Xue's small collection of stories, Purple Perilla, by Joseph Schreiber, roughghosts, posted February 17, 2021. 

 "Announcing Big Other's 2020 Lifetime Achievement Awardees!"  Announcement by Big Other website of four writers for their lifetime achievement, including Will Alexander, John Barth, Stephanie Strickland, and Can Xue by John Madera, posted January 29, 2021.   

"Purple Perilla" by Can Xue. Review of Can Xue's small collection of stories, Purple Perilla, by Farah Abdessamad in Asian Review of Books, posted February 11, 2021.

2020

"Dreaming Freely: On the Ecstatic Fictions of Can Xue." Review of Can Xue's collection of short stories, I Live in the Slums, by Bailey Trela, Los Angeles Review of Books, posted June 17, 2020.

"I live in the Slums by Can Xue." Review of Can Xue's collection of short stories, I Live in the Slums, by Farah Abdessamad, Asian Review of Books, posted May 25, 2020.

2019

"15 Must-Read Books Translated in the Last 5 Years." Mention of Can Xue's novel, Frontier, in list of must-read translated books, by Tobias Carroll, Luisa Rollenhagen, and Christopher Byrd, New York Magazine, posted May 7, 2019.

Articles surrounding speculation that Can Xue was in contention for the 2018 and 2019 Nobel Prizes for Literature:

"Who is Can Xue, the Chinese writer in the running for a Nobel Prize in literature?" Article by Alice Yan, South China Morning Post, posted October 9, 2019.

"Author Can Xue Misses Out on Nobel Prize, But Reaches New Audiences at Home." Article by Jake Newby, RADII, posted October 11, 2019.

"4 Facts about Can Xue, China's Foremost Avant-Garde Writer." Article by Alvin Wong, posted on Inkstone website, October 10, 2019.

"Chinese avant-garde fiction writer gains new fans amid Nobel buzz." Article by Wang Qi, posted to Global Times, October 10, 2019.

Yale University Press announces the publication of I Live in the Slums, a collection of short stories by Can Xue, translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping. Publication date: May 19, 2020.

"Review: Love in the New Millennium by Can Xue." Review by Kevin Wang, posted to Columbia Jounal, August 16, 2019.

"Can Xue's Love in the New Millennium." Review by Jay G. Ying, posted to The White Review website, May 2019.

Can Xue's Love in the New Millennium named to longlist for the Best Translated Book Award for 2019! See the announcement. The book was translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen.

"Love in the New Millennium by Can Xue." Review of the novel by Kelly Krumrie. From Full Stop website, posted March 7, 2019.

In "Briefly Noted," a short review of Love in the New Millennium by Can Xue. The New Yorker, February 4, 2019.

2018 

"Starvation and Suffering Also Get You High." Response by Eileen Myles to Can Xue's Love in the New Millennium. From The Paris Review website, posted November 19, 2018.  

2017

"Frontier by Can Xue." Review by J. Andrew Goodman of Can Xue's novel Frontier.  From The Collagist: Online Literature from Dzanc Books, posted October 2017.

"A Pattern of Freedom: On Can Xue's Frontier." Review by Madeleine Larue of Can Xue's novel Frontier. From The Millions website, posted August 4, 2017.

"The Mysterious Frontiers of Can Xue." Review by Evan James of Can Xue's novel Frontier. From The New Yorker website, posted June 8, 2017.

"Chaya Czernowin's Darkly Majestic Opera 'Infinite Now.'" Review by Alex Ross of Chaya Czernowin's new opera, the text for which is based in part of Can Xue's short story "Homecoming." From The New Yorker website, posted May 2017.

"Frontier by Can Xue."  Review of Can Xue's Frontier by Melissa Beck. From World Literature Today website, posted May 2017.

"Xue Generis: Can Xue and the Dangers of Literary Exceptionalism." Review of Can Xue's Frontier by Amanda DeMarco. From the blog of the Los Angeles Review of Books, posted May 3, 2017.

"Frontier by Can Xue." Reviewed by Terry Hong. From Booklist Online, posted March 3, 2017.

"Frontier by Can Xue." Reviewed by Yun Ni. From Harvard Review Online, posted  April 21, 2017.

"Life in a Northern Town, Review of Frontier by Can Xue." Reviewed by Joseph Schreiber. From Numero Cinq website, posted April 2017.

"Find Your Way Across This Misty, Mysterious 'Frontier.'" Review of Can Xue's Frontier by Amal El-Mohtar. From NPR Books, posted April 2, 2017.

"In Review: Can Xue's Frontier." Reviewed by Beau Lowenstern. From ASYMPTOTE website, posted March 22, 2017.

"Frontier by Can Xue." Reviewed on Publishers Weekly website, March 20, 2017.

"Can Xue's Frontier." Reviewed by Canaan Morse. From Music & Literature, posted March 14, 2017.

"'Frontier' by Can Xue." Reviewed by Kate Prengel. From International Graphic Novels: Volume XI, February 2017. Posted to World without Borders website.

Frontier by Can Xue, translated by Karen Gernant, Chen Zeping. Review from Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2017. Posted online, January 23, 2017.

2016

"Cinese surrealist author Can Xue comes to UB in latest Exhibit X series." Posted to The Spectrum, UB's student newspaper, October 12, 2016.

"Renowned experimental writerCan Xue visits UB as part of Exhibit X." Posted to the University of Buffalo website, October 6, 2016.

Can Xue to read at MIT, October 6, 2016. All are invited! Details.

"Can Xue — Titan of Avant Garde Chinese Writing." Posted to the Edinburgh International Book Festival website, August 18, 2015. [Web article about Can Xue's reading at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

2015

"A Special Kind of Performance: Can Xue on the Course of a Chinese Writer." Posted to The Guardian, October 28, 2015. [A short memoir by Can Xue on her aesthetic and process, translated by Jonathan Griffith. This is a shortened version of a piece originally published by Electric Lit.]

Flood, Alison. "Lost in Translation? Here's my top 10 foreign novels." Posted to The Guardian website, June 11, 2015. [Can Xue's The Last Lover, translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, included. Flood is a writer for The Guardian.]

"Avant-garde writer wins top US award." Posted to the Shenzhen Daily, June 11, 2015.

Spring, Declan. "Declan Spring Introduces Can Xue." Posted to Music & Literature webiste, May 2015. [Declan Spring, Vice President and Senior Editor at New Directions, was the editor for Can Xue's short story collection Blue Light in the Sky, published by New Directions in 2006. This short piece introduces a short story from that collection, "Top Floor," translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping.]

Can Xue Named as a Finalist for 24th Neustadt International Prize for Literature!
Read the May 27, 2015, announcement posted by World Literature Today. Finalists' bios here.

Winner of the Best Translated Book Award 2015!
Can Xue's The Last Lover, translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, announced as the winner of the Best Translated Book Award in Fiction 2015. Read the announcement posted on Three Percent website, May 27, 2015.

Can Xue's The Last Lover, translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award in Fiction 2015. Read the announcement posted on Three Percent website, May 5, 2015.

"Why this Book Should Win: Q&A with Annelise Finegan Wasmoen about The Last Lover." Q&A between Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, translator of Can Xue's The Last Lover, and Daniel Medin of the American University in Paris about why The Last Lover should win the Best Translated Book Award 2015. Posted April 27 on Three Percent website.

Can Xue's The Last Lover, translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award 2015. Announcement posted on April 7, 2015 on Three Percent website.

Can Xue's The Last Lover, translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2015. See the announcement by Booktrust on its website, March 12, 2015.

McElroy, Alex. Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. Colorado Review, March 2015.

Hayot, Eric. "Hidden Sense?" Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. Times Literary Supplement, January 23, 2015.

2014

Kidd, James. "Best Books of 2014." Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. Southern China Morning Post. December 21, 2014.

Music & Literature, No. 5, 2014. [The literary journal Music & Literature devoted its No. 5 issue to the Finish composer Kaija Saariaho, the Norweigian writer Stig Saeterbakken, and Can Xue.]

Sturgeon, Jonathan. “10 New Translated Books to Read Right Now." Flavorwire. October 17, 2014.

Pach, Nell. "The Magic Virtual Realism of Can Xue's The Last Lover." Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. Music & Literature, An Arts Magazine. Posted October 2 2014.

Evans, David. "The Last Lover, by Can Xue. East meets west in a phantasmagorical from an avant-garde Chinese author." Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. The Financial Times, October 17, 2014.

Silman, Roberta. "In Certain Circles and The Last Lover--The Powerful and the Disappointing." Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. The Arts Fuse, Boston's online arts magazine, September 22, 2014.

Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. Publisher's Weekly. August 18, 2014.

Williams, John. "Newly Released Books." Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. New York Times. July 30, 2014.

Pham, Larissa. "The Last Lover by Can Xue." Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. Full Stop, July 28, 2014.

Tonkin, Boyd. "The Last Lover by Can Xue." Review of Can Xue's The Last Lover. The Independent, July 17, 2014.

Khakpour, Porochista. "Porochista Khakpour on Can Xue." Buzzfeed Books/Literary Mothers Project, May 12, 2014. [Novelist Porochista Khakpour's appreciation of Can Xue.]

Lu, Huan. "Can Xue's Latest Collection of Short Stories." All Chinese Women's Federation website, April 18, 2014.

2013

Coleman, Ewan. "Review of Madam X and Mister Q." Dominion Post: February 25, 2013. [Review of a theater production based on the love story in Five Spice Street between Madam X and Mister Q. The play was adapted and directed by Megan Evans.]

2012

Celayo, Amando. "Vertical Motion by Can Xue." Review of Can Xue's Vertical Motion. World Literature in Review, website by World Literature Today, March/April 2012.

2011

Cheng, Aaron N. "Despite Striking Images, Xue's Magical Realism Disappoints." The Harvard Crimson, November 15, 2011. [Review of Can Xue's Vertical Motion.]

"Can Xue's "Vertical Motion": It's Awesome." This Hungry Owl. November 11, 2011. [Thoughtful review of Can Xue's Vertical Motion.]

Oppenheimer, Rebecca. "'Hypothermia' and other chillers for your Halloween bag." The Baltimore Sun Times, October 25, 2011. [Includes a short review of Can Xue's Vertical Motion.]

Matthew, Michael. "Vertical Motion." Review of Can Xue's Vertical Motion. Belletrista, Issue 13, September/October 2011.

Ye, Lily. Review of Can Xue's Vertical Motion. Three Percent, a resource of international literature at the University of Rochester, September 15, 2011.

Haddon, Rosemary. Review of Can Xue's Five Spice Street. MCLC Resource Center Publication, August 2011.

Calvert, Drew. Review of Can Xue's Vertical Motion. The Literary Review, Vol. 54, No. 4, Summer 2011.

Interview by "Read This Next" on the publication of Vertical Motion. Interview with Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping, translators of Vertical Motion. Three Percent, a resource of international literature at the University of Rochester, August 4, 2011.

2010

Zhao, Chenxi. "Classicist and Avant-Garde Can Xue." All-China Women's Federation website, October 14, 2010.

Hussein, Aamer. "Two Reviews of Chinese Writers." Review of Can Xue's Five Spice Street and Han Dong's Banished. Unpublished, but posted to Paper Republic website in January 2010.

2009

Chohan, Hardeep. Review of Five Spice Street by Can Xue. The Literateur, July 10, 2009.

Epstein-Deutsch, Eli. "Is Can Xue the Bruno Schultz of Modern China?" The Village Voice, April 24, 2009.

Howard, Jennifer. "Hot Type: A Few University-Press Books Hit Mainstream 'Best of' Lists." The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 13, 2009. [Can Xue's Five Spice Street is mentioned as a pick by Chad W. Post, Director, Open Letter Books.]

Hughes, Brendan Patrick. "Can Xue's Five Spice Street." Words without Borders: The Online Magazine for International Literature, 2009.

Madera, John. Review of Five Spice Street by Can Xue. The Quarterly Conversation, 2009.

Post, Chad W. Review of Five Spice Street in Three Percent: A Resource of International Literature at the University of Rochester, March 11, 2009.

Yale University Office of Public Affairs. "Avant-Garde Chinese Author Can Xue to Visit Yale," April 6, 2009.

2008

Almeida, Alexis. "Can Xue: This New Literature has an Old Soul." Words without Borders: The Online Magazine for International Literature, March 2008.

2007

Dutton, Danielle. Review of Blue Light in the Sky and Other Stories by Can Xue. The Review of Contemporary Fiction 27, no. 1 (2007): 170–171.

Milicia, Joseph. Review of Blue Light in the Sky and Other Stories by Can Xue. Multicultural Review (Summer 2007): 52.

2006

Ervin, Andrew. Review of Blue Light in the Sky and Other Stories by Can Xue. New York Times Book Review, September 24, 2006.

2005

"Can Xue." A profile on Can Xue in chinaculture.org, December 6, 2005.

2001

Badura, Matthew. Review of The Embroidered Shoes by Can Xue. The Review of Contemporary Fiction, June 22, 1998.

Ducornet, R. Review of The Embroidered Shoes by Can Xue. American Book Review 19, no. 6: 6.

Knapp, Bettina L. Review of La Rue de la Boue Jaune by Can Xue, tr. Genevieve Imbot-Bichet. World Literature Today (Summer 2001).

Michaels, Lisa. Review of The Embroidered Shoes by Can Xue. The New York Times, October 19, 1997.

1997

Bernheimer, Kate. "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye." Artforum International Magazine, 1997. [Discusses Can Xue in a short essay about the re-emergence of fantastical tales.]

1993

Bauer, Daniel J. ""Old Floating Cloud: Two Novellas." Review of Old Floating Cloud: Two Novellas by Can Xue. Asian Folklore Studies (0385-2342), 52 (1), 1993.

1991

Domini, John. "A Nightmare Circling Overhead." Review of Can Xue's Dialogues in Paradise. New York Times Book Review, December 29, 1991.

1990

Bauer, Daniel J. ""Dialogues in Paradise". Review of Can Xue's Dialogues in Paradise. Asian Folklore Studies (0385-2342), 49 (2), 1990.

Duke, Michael S. "World Literature in Review: China." Review of Dialogues in Paradise by Can Xue. World Literature Today (Summer 1990): 524–525.

Lu, Zhengwei. "Dialogues in Paradise." Review of Can Xue's Dialogues in Paradise. Pacific Affairs (0030-851X), 63 (4), 1990.

1989

Mesic, Penelope. Review of Dialogues in Paradise. Booklist 85, no. 21 (July 1989).