THE FOUR BOOKS
Yan Lianke (Text, 2015) ISBN: 9781922184487, RRP AU$29.99 
It’s been a while since I read a book that left me with the single thought, “what the fuck?” Strange as it might sound, I don’t mean this in a negative way. It’s good when a book provokes thought about what just happened and what it all means — to an extent. The Four Books is one such book. Set in a re-educational camp along the banks of the Yellow River during China’s Cultural Revolution, it certainly inspires the questions, “what did I just read? What did the author want me to get from this?” in ways that benefit it. I like the book more now than I did when I finished it, simply by virtue of having given it some consideration.