Literature

"لا نستطيع أن ننكر عليكم معشر الأبناء أن شبابكم أعظم قوة ونشاطًا ، وأبعد همة ، وأقوى عزيمة من شيخوختنا ، وأن أيدينا الشاحبة المعروفة لا تستطيع أن تصل إلى ما تصل إليه أيديكم الفتية المقتدرة ، وأن آراءكم وأفكاركم وجميع تصوُّراتكم وآمالكم التي تتلون بها شبوبيتكم أكثر حدَّةً وحرارة ، وأبعد غورًا وعمقًا من آرائنا وتصوراتنا ، ولكن الذي ننكره عليكم ، ونعتب عليكم فيه أشد العتب هو زرايتكم علينا واحتقاركم لنا ، ورميكم إيانا بالجمود مرة والخرف أخرى كلما اختلفنا معكم في شأنٍ من الشئون". "النظرات" إحدى كلاسيكيات الأدب ، ذلك الإنتاج الأدبي الذي يعود بنا إلى إبداع العصور الماضية ، ولكن في صورة حداثية سلسة ميسرة ، لنبحر في الماضي بمجداف المستقبل. وإذ يصحبنا المنفلوطي في هذه الرحاب الأدبية ، نلمس تعريبه للروايات الأجنبية حتى كأن أحداثها كانت على أرضنا نحن ، يستلهم روح الرواية ثم يفرزها بروح عربية أصيلة تلمس روح القارئ ووجدانه.

'Glorious ... The perfect anthology' A Dragon in Space. 'The title story might break your heart a little. But that can never be such a bad thing. It's beautiful' Jackie Morris. 'A truly wonderful selection from a first-rate storyteller ... an excellent volume; entertaining, questioning, with mind-stretching ideas and places' New Books Magazine. 'Ken Liu isn't just an entertaining and original author - though he is certainly that - he is an important one. Here is an author using his life experience, his talent and skill as an author and every genre and literary tradition at his disposal to make the case that we are humans and individuals before we are ethnic groups or nationalities, and that multiculturalism is our future.' Shoreline of Infinity magazine. 'An exquisite collection of work. More layers of meaning await its readers who can't fail to find something moving and intelligent in the writing of Ken Liu' Allen Stroud, Concatenation. 'There is plenty of evidence here to justify Liu's status as a new writer with great potential. This is the best book I have read so far this year. Highly recommended.' Mark Bilsborough, Concatenation. 'This captivating collection of award-winning short stories is full of wonder and magical realism' Buzzfeed. 'Some of the stories are head-spinningly fantastic and almost surreal in their inventiveness' Irish Times. 'Liu's imagery never ceases to impress; he combines interesting backdrops to accentuate a whole host of intricate reactions, making him a true master of emotion and authenticity ... The Paper Menagerie will cement Liu as a once-in-a-lifetime author. Certainly his work is both stimulating and intoxicating and is the catalyst that sees contemporary Chinese fiction propelled to the forefront of sci-fi' 10/10. SciFiNow. 'When he's good, Liu is very very very good indeed' SFX. 'Now and then along comes a writer who can create a mood so evocative the length of the tale has no bearing on how long you live with its cast, and linger, curled up, inside its bubble ... Ken Liu is such a writer ... By the end of this collection, you return, blinking, into the sharp light of the here and now, and mourn those few short days when you were floating in Liu, heady with the thrill of a life in which your senses were sparked up like phosphorescent antennae to the wonders of our existence on this "boat in space"' The Big Issue. 'The Paper Menagerie is distinguished not only by its inventive imagination and emotional acuity - it has, as a whole, an impressive and cumulative coherence ... The glittering wit on the surface of these pieces belies their righteous anger and profound melancholy ... The finale is a revelation ... It is a wrenching, ethically complex and deeply uncomfortable story, with the subtle balance of testimonies and arguments never compromising its horror' TLS. 'Each of the fifteen stories in this collection is a jewel of fantastical storytelling, written by a man who not only knows how to convey complex and fascinating scientific and philosophical ideas but who is also able to transform those ideas, and use them to highlight the beauty and fragility of the human condition. It is a genuine work of art, a complete joy to read, and very very highly recommended' Starburst Magazine