Jonathan Mirsky
Rebel Province
Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang
By Christian Tyler
John Murray 314pp £20 order from our bookshop
THINK OF A vast area, inhabited by a small population of deeply religious people, and occupied by the Chinese, who despise the local culture and crush dissent. Tibet, surely. Could be – but this much-needed book is about Xinjiang, the far-western ‘Semi-autonomous Region’ which the Chinese have tried to subdue for over two thousand years. It comprises about one sixth of the area of modern China, with a population, mostly Muslim, that makes up one-sixtieth of the national total.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'Everyone talks about the light on Hydra, but sometimes there’s a very good reason why everyone talks about something. The light on Hydra is bronze and blinding.'
Joanna Kavenna on Athens, the Inklings, and why Homer thought sheep were purple.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-call-of-the-wine-dark-sea
'Narratively speaking, "Antkind" doesn’t develop. It just continues. It’s a "New Yorker" Shouts & Murmurs squib inflated to Tolstoyan girth.'
@KevPow3 struggles through Charlie Kaufman's mammoth novel, 'Antkind'.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/a-laugh-a-month
Thanks to @Lit_Review for the book review! https://literaryreview.co.uk/from-bombay-to-the-green-benches