THE FAMINE ARCHIPELAGO

In the current issue of the New York Review of Books (clickable here, no paywall) I have the privilege of reviewing Yang Jisheng’s “Tombstone,” his history of the Great Chinese Famine (published in 2008 in Hong Kong in Chinese, just out now in translation). It’s an amazing work, analogous to the Gulag Archipelago–a voice from within the system, exploring its horrors. Like Gulag, it’s a flawed work but the first chapter on Xinyang is itself worth the price.