While I really liked Wang Chao's Playing for Thrills, I found Please Don't Call me Human mostly dull and difficult to get through. This may be just a case of it not really being intended for me. Human has a strong satirical element, especially as concerns China's loss of the 2000 Olympics, and I suspect if I had a deeper appreciation of Chinese culture and history, more of the humor would have rung true.

The plot, what there is of it, involves a private group calling themselves the Mobilization Committee (MobCom) organized around redeeming China's international reputation by proving that China has the toughest fighter in the world. To that end, they recruit a young man, who happens to be the son of one of the members of the Boxer Rebellion, and put him through all sorts of routines and diets in order to make him the ultimate fighter.

Despite the interesting premise, it mostly felt like a lot of strange stuff happening with little reason, the characters are mostly caricatures, and there's never a sense of anything really being at stake. It did have its moments, but overall I think it was not really intended for a non-Chinese audience. ( )

A political satire aimed squarely at China's nationalism. After a particularly humiliating defeat by a foreign fighter who bested all that China could throw at him, it was decided that MobCom (Shortened from National Mobilising Committee) needed a latter-day Big Dream Boxer. A descendant from the legendary fighters of the Boxer Rebellion must be found and trained to take on this fearsome adversary. MobCom will stop at nothing to line their own pockets from endorsements and any other way they can make money out of the event while offering up ridiculous training methods for the unfortunate candidate. Taken away from his life as a pedicab driver and also his family, Tang Yuanbao is as passive an individual as you're ever likely to encounter. Accepting everything because it's for the good of the nation he tries to accomplish all that is set before him.

There were some quite amusing sections in this book but there were also a few more that were quite a slog to get through. There's not much subtlety to the satire as it's all pretty much of the in your face variety. Not sure how much effect the translation had but I suspect even a very good one wouldn't have altered my lack of enjoyment with this read. ( )

Wang Shuo's goal is to never write anything that he or others find necessary for society, particularly if it is uplifting. "The Propaganda Department has said my works are reactionary and that they ridicule politics. They say the taste and the language are vulgar. I do not deny this." from the Introduction

Giving face, losing face. In Chinese culture 'face' can be translated to mean honor, prestige, respect. To lose face is to lose that honor (I once in a heated moment intentionally made my client lose face in a room full of people by proving he was wrong... I got fired. That was my intention. My motto is "When you've got no face, you've got no face to lose").

Please Don't Call Me Human is about a rogue committee attempting to regain China's face in the sporting world by training a citizen to be a superhero, a national hero, an icon of the new China at any cost... and the cost is great.

The book was not a smooth read, very turbulent. I think Wang Shuo's style may have been lost in translation. There were some brilliant sections scattered throughout the book, some hilarious moments, but you had to kind of slog your way through to find them. And if you do decide to read this DO NOT read the blurb on the back cover. It gives away the shocking ending. No Exit Press screwed up on this one. ( )