The Banquet Bug
About
Dan Dong, an unemployed factory worker in contemporary China, stumbles into an unlikely career: crashing banquets. Armed with a borrowed suit and a talent for impersonation, he talks his way into government dinners, corporate galas, and private parties — eating lavishly while the country's new elite barely notice one more face at the table. Yan Geling uses Dan's picaresque adventures as a lens onto China's economic transformation, where the gap between the banquet and the street grows wider with each course. The novel is funny, sharp, and surprisingly compassionate toward everyone at the table — the crasher and the crashed alike. A satire about abundance and pretense in a country where both are growing faster than anyone can keep track.
