Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

I really liked the premise of this book, but reading it felt like a chore. Particularly annoying is the writer's tendency to repeat sentences or phrases. For example, "In front of the shop, everyone was nervous as though the air were too thin. Out in the streets, everyone was nervous as though the air were too thin." Or certain dialogue is always said twice, one after the other. If this is supposed to be a literary style, I am just not digging it. Perhaps other people found more merit in this book. Maybe something got lost in tranlation/editing. (I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

I will be honest, this was a hard one for me. The idea of the story grabbed me and yes the whole premise was good. But the execution of this story was not the best. At times I drifted and did not feel like re-reading. Much seemed repetitive. This is quite a shame as I said the idea behind the story made this a book I thought I would surely love. Maybe this is just my interpretation and you might like it more. I am giving this a 2.5 star rounded to 3 star review.

I thought this book was interesting, but could not find my footing nor was I really engaged. Perhaps it's just a consequence of the time, but I have to DNF this one all the same. Nevertheless, thanks for allowing me to read in advance — I really love the cover!

I really liked the premise of this book and wanted to love it. However, I felt there was a lot of repetition and this made it a slow and at times difficult read,

Secrets, sins, retribution, and atonement drive this surreal tale. A night of Somnubulence over the countryside becomes a larger metaphor. Overworked and overheated, the townspeople begin to sleepwalk. At first, it is harmless and mostly comical. Over time it becomes a deadly game where the entire town faces total destruction.

The town's secrets are revealed, mostly centered on the narrator's father and uncle. When the orders that the dead can no longer be buried and must be cremated the townsfolk do not comply. The crematorium begins to bribe informers to reveal who is still performing the ceremonial burial after the death of family members. The crematoriums less successful brother-in-law becomes his top informer. Eventually, the town complies, but not without resentment. The backstory becomes critical when the dream walking begins. Everyone's secret desires come out. In some ways, it becomes a cleansing of secrets, a release from keeping it in. Over time, the jealousies win out. People robbing from others, murdering rivals, and eventually entire towns arrive to loot other towns. The father discovers a secret that solves the problem and absolves his guilt.

An interesting play on secrets and guilt. Also a good example of the perils of groupthink. Good introduction on the symbolism intended int he novel. Provides a good backdrop to Chinese historical references.

I'm wondering if it's the translation of the book or the book itself that's the problem. I'm seeing that there's a lot of complaints about the repetition in the book and I have a similar problem. It makes it very difficult to get through especially since it's not a very fast moving book in general.

While I'm always looking for literary fiction with social commentary like this coming from China, I think maybe this one was a bit too slow for my taste.

First published in China in 2015; published in translation by Grove Press on December 11, 2018

Li Niannian does not sleep deeply enough to dreamwalk, but on one eventful night, the kind of night that only happens once in a century, most residents of his village suddenly suffer from somnambulism. They behave differently than normal sleepwalkers, because they act out their dreams for hours and resist attempts to awaken them. Some villagers are walking into the river and committing suicide in their sleep. Others die accidental deaths; still others are murdered. Dreamwalkers confess their sins and commit new sins. Some dreamwalkers beat each other to death or plot the murder of spouses. The mayor dreams that he is an emperor.

Niannian’s family makes funeral wreaths and other decorations for the dead. One of his uncles operates the crematorium. As cremation is required by law, it appears that business will be booming for both family businesses after the night of dreamwalking comes to an end. In flashbacks, we learn of controversies surrounding Niannian’s father (a good man who made questionable decisions) and uncle (a questionable man who might be capable of good decisions). One controversy surrounds the proper use of the corpse oil that bodies expel when they are cremated.

The long night of somnambulism is extended by a sunless, cloudy morning — hence the title. Outsiders who learn that villagers are unable to wake up pour into town, breaking into stores and homes and carrying off their loot. Bedlam ensues, and the prolonged lack of sunlight leaves Niannian wondering whether it will ever end. It is up to Niannian’s father to devise an ingenious plan to save the village.

Yan Liane is a character in the novel. He is portrayed as a famous author who occasionally returns to the village for new story ideas. Niannian makes frequent refences to Yan’s other novels (whether those books are real or imagined, I’m not sure), which he claims recount the entire history of the narrator’s family. Yan’s mother fears he will die inside his story if he writes while dreamwalking. Yet writing stories is very much like dreamwalking and Yan would prefer to die than to stop writing.

This brief overview cannot capture the novel’s texture or the richness of its characterization. The story suggests that dreamwalkers expose their true selves when they are free to do whatever they desire. Greed and jealousy become primary motivators of rich dreamwalkers, while despair governs the action of the poor. The story invites readers to wonder what they might do while dreamwalking.

Yan Liane’s writing attempts to make a virtue of redundancy. He repeats sentences or parts of sentences, sometimes adding a new word or slightly rephrasing his thoughts. Whether he does that for emphasis or to create a rhythm, I don’t know. Maybe the style is more successful in Chinese than in translation. I enjoyed the story more than the prose, although Yan’s writing style is otherwise fine.

The story is entertaining while offering interesting thoughts about Chinese history, philosophies, and culture. The novel says something about fate — its disregard of whether someone has lived a good or bad life — and the random nature of death. It also says something about the ability of survivors to accept that randomness and endure. Freshly dug graves are “covered by a layer of new grass, but apart from the fact that this grass was lighter, thinner, and more tender than the surrounding grass, these new graves were scarcely different from the older ones.” Death is every person’s fate, but life continues, new wheat sprouting where the old has been trampled. People and their sacrifices are easily forgotten. All events will be lost to the depths of time, but new events will replace them. The Day the Sun Died is both death-affirming and life-affirming, telling a timeless and universal story by focusing on a single night in a small village.

RECOMMENDED

The Day the Sun died recounts the experiences of the teenage Lu Niannian when all the people in his village start dreamwalking after the sun goes down. This seems harmless enough in the beginning, with people merely doing more work than usual, but things soon start to go very wrong. There are suicides, scandalous confessions, shameless behaviour, looting and, eventually, violence and murder. Niannian and his father do their utmost to try and bring the villagers around and quell the impending disaster.

In a trope reminiscent of Martin Amis there is a character in this book, author Yan Lianke. This author is one of Niannian's favourites and he cites favourite works and excerpts that seem to be riffs on Yan's real works. There is probably a bit of an inside gag here that readers more familiar with Yan's work will appreciate.

The book seems to work as an allegory of the Cultural Revolution, where the social norms of society broke down and ordinary people were pitted against one another in the service of a new group of leaders. It certainly suggests the violence, fear and doubt that would have existed then. I did find Yan's writing a little cumbersome at times with strange repetitions of sentences and dialogue. (This may have been due to the translation). Overall a curious and interesting novel.

One of the more challenging reads of the year. This is so entangled with Chinese culture and political history that it likely less amusing to the less informed reader than it is to someone who is familiar with the various issues Lianke is addressing. That said, it's worth the effort. Read on a basic level, it's kind of a horror story of dream walking, when all one's secrets are expressed. Read on the level it's meant to be, it's commentary on modern China. The image which stuck with me is the concept of corpse oil, which I'm sure is not what Lianke intended. There are some frustrations with the writing, which is at times repetitive, but I'm glad to have read it. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

This one is so interesting and feels different from most other books I’ve read. The premise of darkness literally coming over a place and having this book set in China compelled me to request it. The cover (at least the one i received) is awesome. It is turquoise and suits the premise of the story well. The main issue with this book for me was how dense it was.. I found it really difficult to plow through. When I did find time and energy to read it I liked what I read and was intrigued. That being said, this one requires someone who has some energy because it takes a lot of brain power and willpower to stick with it. I’m stretched a little too thin to properly appreciate and make the effort to get through this one. I will reread it more carefully at some point when I’m not juggling as much I hope! So unique and challenging would be how I describe this one.

Thank you Net Galley. I loved this book. It is well written and translated. It is hard for me to describe the book but it is a very powerful read. I recommend it very highly.

The thing I love the most about this book is the title. It is exactly as suggestive and thought-provoking as the rest of the book.

This isn't exactly a page-turner. Actually, the descriptive parts read almost like non-fiction or research paper. Yan Lianke really does transport you to an authentic China, one of the best Chinese writers I have read.

I think this book will make many interested into the Asian culture and the story provides amazing entertainment while forcing you to ask questions you probably wouldn't want to address otherwise. I felt like a whole new layer of me was added after finishing this.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Yan Lianke is known for creating works of fiction that have their basis in a kernel of truth that colors Chinese society. In this allegory he focuses on China's policy of forced cremation by inventing an uncle of a young teenage boy who is getting rich off of the new policy. Niannian loves his uncle but is aware that he profits from people's grief and need for cremation. Niannian's mother and father own a funerary shop selling paper money, paper cutouts, and wreathes that are placed with the dead for their future life. When Tianbao, Niannian's father, finds out that his brother-in-law is taking "corpse oil" from the cremated bodies and trying to sell it at a profit ,he convinces his brother- in- law to sell all future barrels to him, but instead hides them in a cave.
All changes when one night people started "dream walking" and committing crimes which seemed to escalate as time marched on. Eventually the sun refused to shine as murder and mayhem ensued with an ending that sends goosebumps to the reader. Filled with unforgettable imagery this poetic rendering looks at a political policy that sharply diverges from the wishes of the people.

My thoughts:

The scope of the novel is vast and at times this caused me to lose interest if I'm honest, it caused me to stop and start but I was committed to see it through as the plot description intrigued me so much. I always enjoy reading novels which merge elements of fantasy or magic with realism. '

The novel wasn't character or plot driven as it deals with somewhat larger ideas and is more a critique of the society, which is another reason it took me a little longer to read.

The novel is concerned with the idea of 'The Chinese Dream', which means a set of ideals and hopes which the public are striving towards. It can be compared to the American dream, although it is quite different in it's details from the research I did after reading the book. I found this quite interesting.

It is apparent in the novel that Lianke is writing a critique or satire about the state of the Chinese dream and Chinese society, which is why it has not been published in mainland China.

I was a bit frustrated by the constant repetition that Lianke used, and certain literary devices. I'm not sure if this is a stylistic choice but I didn't really enjoy it.

Overall while there were certainly some interesting elements of the novel, such as the political and social commentary, it's not a work of fiction which I would pick up again. However I'm glad I read it and it opened my eyes to a different culture and writing style.

I really liked the premise of this book, but reading it felt like a chore. Particularly annoying is the writer's tendency to repeat sentences or phrases. For example, "In front of the shop, everyone was nervous as though the air were too thin. Out in the streets, everyone was nervous as though the air were too thin." Or certain dialogue is always said twice, one after the other. If this is supposed to be a literary style, I am just not digging it. Perhaps other people found more merit in this book.

'Astonished, I walked out of his room, and saw him heading toward the lake, like a ghost heading toward the grave.'

I read somewhere this book has political meaning, and it can certainly be seen in the sleepwalking villagers, not much different from their hard-working daily lives. Going about their business, laboring , as if on automatic, is this the Chinese dream? Are they ready to embrace the modern world, should they, do they even want to? Teenager Li Niannian and his parents run the New World funerary shop, his parents creating Chinese paper offerings for the dead, supplying the deceased with everything they might need in the afterlife. Once, his father secretly aided his uncle by giving news when someone in the village died, denying them their secret burials forcing them to cremate their loved ones. This continues to shame him, and comes to light during the somnambulism of one strange night. The sun has set, but the villagers on the mountainside are acting as though the day is still on, working, some behaving in bizarre ways, finally revealing desires they would never have otherwise acted upon. Some confessing things that have troubled their conscience, much like Li Niannian’s father. But it’s turning dangerous, some are seeking the water, risking their lives. Li Niannian and his family know they must save the villagers from themselves or there will be no one left come morning, if the sun hasn’t truly died. How do you convince people they are not really awake? What if things turn violent, murderous?

Uncle Shao Dacheng is very successful but the villagers don’t want to shirk their traditional burials for cremation, then there is the special corpse oil which is another facet of this surreal story. It turns darkly disturbing as madness ensues, who will save the day? When will this darkest of nights end? Will they ever wake up?

It’s interesting to think of the poverty striken and how politics control their lives, down to how they bury their dead. How little control they seem to have, how true feelings can only arise in a dream state, a repressed people. An original that has more meaning than I can ever hope to explain.

Linake is an award-winning, successful contemporary author in China.

Pulication Date: December 28, 2018

Grove Atlantic

Grove Press

This was a very complex read and quite tough to digest at times. Overall I found the story very intriguing and a bit mesmerizing. It was very strange how the author works himself into the story as a character but somehow it worked.

Still thinking about barrels and barrels of corpse oil.

Our story begins on a day early in June. The sun is just going down in a little town deep in the Balou mountains of China.
Fourteen -year-old Li Niannian notices something is different about his town. Instead of folks settling down for the night, the residents start appearing in the streets and fields. There are people everywhere. Why aren’t they home preparing for evening meal and bedtime?
Li Niannian is confused and mystified. Eventually he realizes the people are dreamwalking, carrying on with their daily business as if the sun hadn’t gone down. All is calm until darkness covers the town and all hell breaks loose.

This unique novel takes place over the course of one night. I found that an intriguing device of writing. Things become increasingly weird and troubling, even nightmarish as Li Niannian and his father struggle to save their town. “His eyes were wide open as though he were wide awake, but when he spoke he didn’t look anyone in the eye. His brick-like expression demonstrated that he was sleeping.” This quote shows the creepiness of the situation. When people are dreamwalking, they see only the people and things they care about and nothing else.

The sun MUST rise again to end the chaos, death and horror. But how dies one persuade the sun to rise? Keep reading reader. You will learn.

I really enjoyed Yan Lianke’s storytelling as I read. My only criticism is that the book was a bit wordy and the events were spaced too far apart. I almost abandoned the book for this reason, but plodded on. I’m glad I did.

In 2012, President Xi Jinping first talked about "the Chinese Dream", a concept that aims to translate the American Dream into Chinese cultural concepts and, by that, is meant to capture a specifically Chinese version of the strife for success, prosperity and happiness. Author Yan Lianke knows that the line between a dream and a nightmare can be a thin one, and that dreams might give free reign to our subconscious urges and fears. "The Day the Sun Died" is his novel about the Chinese dream, and, as many of Yan Lianke's satirical and critical works, the book has not been published in Mainland China.

Our protagonist is 14-year-old Li Niannian who lives in Gaotian Village (which actually exists) and whose parents own a shop that sells items for funeral rituals. His uncle has become rich as the owner of the local crematorium - the party has forbidden to bury the dead in order to save space, so all bodies must be cremated, and there is money to be earned by reporting those who try to bury their dead anyway. In the story, the cremations produce "corpse oil", which sells for high prices and can be used to keep machines running or to make fertilizer - I guess we don't have to discuss Yan Lianke's attitude towards China's authoritarian regime.

The incident told in the book takes place during one single night during which all inhabitants of the village suddenly start sleepwalking, or "dreamwalking", the word used in the text which better reflects the Chinese expression for the phenomenon. As a consequence, the village drowns in chaos and violence, all kinds of secrets are revealed, and elements of Chinese history are played out in the context of this uprising. The nation's past haunts the villagers, and their individual pasts and urges are exposed while even in the morning, the sun refuses to rise, until Li Niannian's father crafts a shocking plan to bring back the light.

What does the Chinese people really dream of, what nightmares haunt this nation? Often, characters in the book are unsure whether they are awake or dreamwalking - they do not know what is happening anymore, and the horror is often rooted in the injustice they have experienced (like having the graves of their loved ones blown up with dynamite), their own wrongful deeds (like ratting out their neighbours) and the circumstances they are living in (the oppression of the system).

First, I read this tale as purely metaphorical, until I found out that in 1956, Mao announced a “proposal for cremation after death” (he himself was of course not cremated), and that there are really regions in China in which burials are illegal (https://www.theguardian.com/world/201...). Still, the book operates with satire and critcism on many levels, and while it obviously talks about modern China, it also has a lot to say about human nature in general and contemplates how we treat each other under which circumstances. Interestingly, the book also features a character named "Yan Lianke" who is an author (his book titles are puns on the books written by the real Yan Lianke) and who, just like everybody els, is sometimes awake, and sometimes dreamwalking.

The novel has a very specific tone and works with variations of sentence structures, repetition and the juxtaposition of darkness and light as well as heat and cold, which gives the text an unusual feel (but maybe this is only the opinion of a European who doesn't know much about Chinese literature and poetic concepts). A fascinating, impressive read, highly recommended.