By Saibal Dasgupta, TNN
Writer Mo Yan, whose complex world of fiction often reminds readers of William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, pipped bookmaker's favourite Japanese Haruki Murakami to become the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for literature. When told by organizers that he had won the award, Mo said he was both "overjoyed and scared".
Mo, 57, is the author of renowned novels such as 'Red Sorghum' (later made into an acclaimed film) and 'Big Breasts and Wide Hips'. In an interview to Granta, he once said, "Censorship is great for literature creation."
Reacting to the award, Mo said, "I felt I was not very senior in terms of qualification (among Chinese writers). There are many good writers and my ranking was not so high," adding, "The Nobel Literature Prize is a very important literature prize, but not the top award. It represents the opinions of the jury."
A farmer's son, he once dropped out of primary school due to poverty before continuing his studies and going on to become a writer. "Loneliness and hunger were my fortunes of creation," he is reputed to have once said.
Mo Yan (which means 'do not speak' in Mandarin) is a pseudonym for Guan Moye. Mo also did a stint with the People's Liberation Army and collaborated in Communist Party's literary projects. He is seen in some quarters as being too close to the party to be considered politically independent. Others feel he has effectively used literature to expose corruption, misdeeds during the family planning drive and decadence in society.
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