Written in 1987, Red Sorghum received critical acclaim in China and was made into a movie in 1988. It was not until 1993, however, that this novel was translated into English. I sure am glad it was because it is an incredibly powerful book that presents a genuine Chinese viewpoint.Most of the story takes place in the 1930s, when the Japanese invaded China and it is full of scenes of horrific atrocities. But along with the brutality and violence, the book is clearly a work of art as the author blurs the boundaries between past and present and creates a disturbing kaleidoscopic vision of the world he describes. The story is complex and tinged with magic realism and it takes concentration to keep the characters straight. Sometimes it felt like the story were a myth, but then there are the gruesome details of reality which made me cringe but kept my eyes glued to the page.There are details here about Chinese life which I have never heard of before. To give you a mild example, when the young woman who becomes the narrator's grandmother was to be married, she was carried to her wedding in a sedan chair. I've heard about this practice before, but never like this. The sedan-chair bearers, who are all young men, like to make sure the ride is so bumpy that the bride will throw up. In is in this scene when we are introduced to one of the sedan chair bearers, who later becomes the narrator's grandfather as well as a well known warlord.Bloodshed is constant. There are the Japanese invaders, of course. But there are also the bandits and warlords and packs of raging feral dogs. Though it all there is love. And there are also myths and legends which cross the line of the real and unreal. Taken together, this is an amazing book. I have never read anything quite like it before.I loved it all and highly recommend it for those who are adventurous in nature and who are not afraid of the graphic details haunting their dreams.