Quote from Kanlaon's Blog - on Mo Yan by Ian Buruma

Two translations of Mo Yan, both by Howard Goldblatt: Sandalwood Death and Pow! The review is by Ian Buruma, who says of Mo Yan: “There is nothing mandarin, or even urbane, about Mo Yan’s work. He has retained the earthy character of rural Shandong, where he grew up in a farming family.” http://anthropologist.wordpress.com/author/anthropologist/