THERE are many ways to define fame. But one of them, surely, is to see your name in lights above bustling New York streets. A Chinese writer saw just an illumination in July when his name appeared on the big screen in Times Square. For Liu Zhenyun, it was a spectacular and well-merited promotion of his latest book, “Laughter and Tears: A Novel.”

    Liu, one of the best-selling authors of novels in contemporary China, has penned a number of popular works, including “Someone to Talk to,” “Remembering 1942,” and “I Did Not Kill My Husband.” His works have been translated into more than 28 languages, and “Someone to Talk to” was awarded the 2011 Mao Dun Literature Prize.

    Corriere della Sera, the Italian newspaper, dubbed Liu “the Kafka of Beijing.” In 2018, Liu was awarded France’s Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

    “‘Laughter and Tears: A Novel’ can be worthily called another ‘high peak’ after ‘Someone to Talk to,’” says Zhang Xudong, a professor of comparative literature and East Asian studies at New York University. The novel is based on the folklore of a legendary figure Hua Erniang, and describes the paintings of the narrator’s uncle, telling of the humor and life of people in Yanjin, Henan Province, Liu’s hometown.

    The author chooses three main protagonists, two actors and an actress, in the local Yuju opera “The Legend of the White Snake.” Chen Changjie, Li Yansheng and Ying Tao tell stories about their families and the younger generation.

    In the book, everyone from Yanjin is humorous and can tell excellent jokes. Hua Erniang, the spirit of a widow waiting eternally for her husband, as in Yanjin folklore, will come into people’s dreams. In this state she will ask them to tell her a joke. If she thinks the joke is boring, she will instruct them to carry her to a place where she can drink spicy soup. But they die in the effort as she crushes them following her transformation into a mountain. However, if she likes the joke, she will give them a persimmon. As a result, people from Yanjin tell really good jokes.

    In the statement for a news conference to promote his new book, Liu says different books by the same author can share a link, and all could form a larger book, which reflects the life of the author. He also says the ability to examine a writer is not the language they use, but in the details, the plot, and the story.

    An author at Kirkus Reviews, a book review site in the United States, writes, “Liu has written a masterful tale that will make you laugh even as you despair.” Liu’s tragedies often have a feature of comedy and his comedies are also like tragedies. He tells many jokes and ridiculous stories in his books, and you will laugh when you read them. However, the truth behind the jokes could be cruel and sorrowful.

    Publishers Weekly writes about Liu’s novel “I Did Not Kill My Husband”: “Liu Zhenyun does not lecture, but instead he playfully examines the eccentricities of characters caught up in a farcical web of bribery and shady dealings.”

    Liu Yulin, the daughter of Liu Zhenyun, adapted her father’s award-winning novel “Someone to Talk to” into a film in 2016. She won the silver medal under the narrative category at the 41st Student Academy Awards.    (China Daily)