Masters of Sleep and Other Stories

Fans of magical realism, strange literary fiction, and avant-garde writing can rejoice in Zhu Yue's short story collection, Masters of Sleep. Originally published in Chinese, Zhu's stories take the reader on a mind-bending, wildly imaginative journey where eccentric and magical characters embark on quests, confront paradoxes, travel to distant planets, master esoteric arts, fall in love, and escape death. This anthology features some of Zhu's most cerebral and critically-acclaimed stories: an outlaw extracts gold from inside his own body; a scientist invents a solution that will dissolve the entire universe; a group of sleep masters risk (and sometimes lose) their lives by falling asleep under increasingly impossible and dangerous circumstances. A gloriously innovative and versatile writer, Zhu Yue playfully interrogates many so-called "Western" ideals and values: What is the value of invention if it has no practical use? How much of ourselves are we willing to sacrifice for wealth and greatness? And to what extent is a person's physical existence a sufficient expression of their individuality? "Creative work means to make something out of nothing," Zhu Yue writes in his author's note. "This is our first and foremost duty; we can leave all other things to nature." Evoking Jorge Luis Borges, with the lightness of Italo Calvino; Russel Edson, with a probing philosophical concentration; Kafka, with a bit more optimism; and Mary Ruefle, with a subversive Occidental gaze, Zhu Yue's stories grant readers the rare, multiplex gifts of intellectual delight, emotional inquiry, and resonating aesthetic freedom."