A reader who brings an open mind to Frog, the novel first published in Chinese in 2009, awarded the Mao Dun literary prize in 2011 and now impeccably translated into English by Howard Goldblatt, will discover a subtle if occasionally baggy text that does not slot easily into a political binary.

It is a pity for those who might otherwise enjoy his work that he was put on one side of a line that he himself had not chosen to draw. His critics argued that his credibility suffered by comparison with others whose opposition was more explicitly embedded in the contest of values and moral claims between liberty and communism, and the Chinese government’s evident delight at the prize did nothing to help. He is the first Chinese Nobel laureate who is neither in exile nor in jail, and discussion of his merits defaulted to his relationship with the regime and the vexed question of whether official approval was compatible with literary excellence. Readers familiar with the author’s work will appreciate his sly references to past titles, including “red sorghum” and Gong Li, while newbies will be inspired to explore more of what they’ve been missing.I t was perhaps unhelpful for the novelist Mo Yan’s literary reputation that he won the 2012 Nobel prize for literature. Verdict: As Mo’s first book in English translation since his 2012 Nobel win (it was originally published in 2009 in China), this should move briskly off the shelves. The characters here are not even worthy of proper names, merely called by random body parts, e.g., “Eyes Zhao, Colon Wu, Shoulder Sun” none is wholly human. His frog analogies suggest that humanity is little more than a population of indistinguishable, spermlike tadpoles with less-than-favorable survival rates. Melding tragedy (avoidable deaths, the destruction of families) with absurd outcomes (a fortune-teller who breeds bullfrogs, a panhandling Don Quixote, a television magistrate with a King Solomon complex), Mo again reveals the consequences of blind obedience. Now that she is almost 70, her nephew Tadpole attempts to comprehend her epic career by turning her celebrated, tortured life into theater. Yet for every live birth, she’s aborted at least as many pregnancies, proving her patriotism by fervently upholding China’s one-child policy even relatives can’t escape Gugu’s unwavering rampage.

Wan Xin, aka Gugu, is a revered obstetrician who has delivered generations of Gaomi Township citizens over the last half century.

Frog by Mo Yan