An epic from the author of the best-selling Berlin Alexanderplatz, this was Alfred Doblin's first book, also known as the first Western novel to depict China before its contact with Europe.
Alfred Doblin (1878-1957) was a novelist, essayist, neurologist, and the leading figure of German Expressionist writing. He is best known for his novel Berlin Alexanderplatz, which was adapted into the acclaimed television series by Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1980. C. D. Godwin studied German and Chinese in Edinburgh and Hong Kong. He worked in Hong Kong and China for many years, and now divides his time between England and Beijing. He is preparing an English translation of Doblin's South American trilogy Land without Death.
“Döblin unfolds a colourful panorama, teeming with characters,
changing landscapes and human activity, all revolving around Wang
Lun and his ‘Three Leaps,’ the three pivotal moves he makes in his
life…Reader prepared to immerse themselves in the noisy, bustling,
exotic word of Döblin’s novel will be richly rewarded, for it is a
challenging, absorbing and, above all, an entertaining book.”
—Times Literary Supplement
"Without the futurist elements of Döblin’s work from Wang Lun to
Berlin Alexanderplatz, my prose is inconceivable…He’ll discomfort
you, give you bad dreams. If you’re satisfied with yourself, beware
of Döblin." —Günter Grass
"I learned more about the essence of the epic from Döblin than from
anyone else. His epic writing and even his theory about the epic
strongly influenced my own dramatic art." —Bertolt Brecht
"I consider Döblin’s 1915 novel, The Three Leaps of Wang Lun, the
best contemporary German novel by far. It exhibits an entirely
superior, most rare, talent. It is true art." —Max Horkheimer
"Doblin knew precious little about China when he started his 'big
book'; he was mainly attracted by the idea of an entirely exotic
non-Western non-modern society, and he researched as he went along.
But he caught something very real of that peculiarly bookish tenor
of Chinese literature that winds its echoes through much of the
vast canon.” —Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly
Praise for the Calligrams series:
“All things must have their beginnings, and this beginning of the
‘Calligram' imprint is quite promising...These are inviting
volumes. Their invitation is threefold, three volumes to kick off a
series that deserves a long life and a wide readership.” —Steve
Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly
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