Event Running Through March 22#
Running through March 22, the latest installment of the Bookworm International Literary Festival kicked off this week in Beijing. Billing itself as a “celebration of literature and ideas,” the festival hosts noted authors, critics, artists and musicians, and performers from China and around the world, making it one of the city’s most highly anticipated literary events.
This week, Penguin China put together a “Best of the Bookworm” list, featuring some of the best and brightest (Penguin) books set to make an appearance at the Bookworm International Literary Festival:
Sunday 10th March, 6.00pm at The Beijing Bookworm
Hanging Devils with He Jiahong
A chilling noir piece set in Dongbei, Hanging Devils is a page-turning thriller. After many years in the West, Hong Jun returns to China, bringing with him the ideals of his American legal training. He takes on a seemingly impossible cold case: the rape and murder of a local beauty. A possible miscarriage of justice that condemned the wrong man to jail sends Hong Jun digging into the past. In his hunt for the truth, Hong quickly comes face-to-face with the sleazy underbelly of China’s legal system, stumbling upon corruption, betrayal and treachery. Hear legal expert and thriller writer He Jiahong talk about miscarriages of justice and writing what you know.
65rmb – Tickets available at The Bookworm
Thursday 14 March, 5.00pm at The Dutch Embassy
Encore: The Civil Servant’s Notebook with Wang Xiaofang
“Politics is an ugly business,” says a government official in Wang Xiaofang’s The Civil Servant’s Notebook. With a surrealistic style, Wang’s novel winds through the murky world of Chinese politics. When the position for mayor opens up in a northeastern city, candidates engage devious plots, bribery and seduction in an unrestrained fight for political power and personal prestige. But when the notebook of an ordinary civil servant is made public, all bets are off for the struggle for power. Drawing on his personal experience, Wang, a retired civil servant, has created a novel that is both hilarious and sobering in its portrayal of the motivations and actions of those in power. Join us to hear more on this genre-breaking novel and the real notebook that inspired it.
65rmb – The event is co-sponsored by FCCC and will be held at the Dutch Embassy. Ticket only available at the door. Please register with the FCCC ahead of time at fcccadmin@gmail.com.
Saturday 16 March, 6.00pm at The Bookworm
Nothing Gained with Phillip Y. Kim
Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, Phillip Y. Kim’s fast paced thriller Nothing Gained is a story of multimillion-dollar investments, unpalatable truths, insider secrets and material gluttony set amidst an atmosphere of impending catastrophe.
When the body of one of Hong Kong’s ex-pat elite – a banker and one-percenter – washes up on a city beach, the comfortable life his new widow previously knew is ripped away from her. As she begins to unpick his complicated business affairs, she discovers a world of dark dealings she had never imagined. Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, Phillip Y. Kim’s fast paced thriller, Nothing Gained is a story of multimillion-dollar investments, unpalatable truths, insider secrets and material gluttony set amidst an atmosphere of impending catastrophe. Kim joins us to talk about the dangers of excess and how his real-life experience as a banker informed his work.
65rmb – Tickets available at the Bookworm
Sunday 17 March, 4.00pm at The Bookworm
Big Questions: Is There a Moral Cliff?
Do corporations and financial institutions have a moral obligation? Is the double bottom line more than just words? Does corporate social responsibility have a practical implication or is just to assuage corporate guilt? In writing his thriller Nothing Gained, Philip Kim drew on his experience in Hong Kong’s financial sector. Bill Valentino and his work at the China Institute for Social Responsibility help spread awareness of the effects of CSR in China. Join us as they debate and discuss with Karin Finkelston of the IFC.
80rmb – Tickets available at the Bookworm
More from The Bookworm: bookwormfestival.com/bookworm-events