Schwanentage

Reading and discussion with Zhang Yueran, moderated by Karin Betz

Nanny Yu Ling works for a Chinese family who live a life of luxury and seemingly limitless power. She has been caring for seven-year-old Kuan Kuan for many years. Yu knows the family's secrets, but the reverse is not true. In
hoping to collect a large ransom, Yu plans to kidnap the child. But things take a turn when the nanny learns during the kidnapping that the family's respected patriarch has been arrested for corruption and Kuan Kuan's mother is on the run. In China's pressurized political environment, the fate of even the most powerful families can turn around overnight. Yu is left alone with the child and must make decisions that will change her life. Zhang Yueran, born in 1982, is one of China's most influential authors and her books have been translated worldwide. In 2012, the Taiwanese Unitas magazine listed her as one of the 20 most important authors under 40. Zhang lives in Beijing and teaches literature and creative writing at Renmin University. Her new novel "Schwanentage" has been translated into German by Karin Betz.