Description

***’A refreshing perspective on mourning, as well as a moving tale of a social outcast’ – i-D Magazine***

***’Subtle and understated […] ultimately very moving’ – The Big Issue***

***A fascinating glimpse into how [rural women’s] lives are still led’ – Dorset Magazine***

Is it ever too late to change your life?

Elegant, wry and moving, The Funeral Cryer tells the tale of one woman’s mid-life re-awakening in contemporary rural China and proves that it’s never too late to alter your fate.

The Funeral Cryer long ago accepted the mundane realities of her life: avoided by fellow villagers because of the stigma attached to her job as a professional mourner and under-appreciated by The Husband, whose fecklessness has pushed the couple close to the brink of break-up. But just when things couldn’t be bleaker, The Funeral Cryer takes a leap of faith – and in so doing things start to take a surprising turn for the better . . .

Dark, moving and wry, The Funeral Cryer is both an illuminating depiction of a ‘left behind’ society – and proof that it’s never too late to change your life.

What readers have been saying about The Funeral Cryer:

‘A beautiful, thought-provoking book […] incredibly humorous’ – J. Wells, Five-star Reader Review

‘A stunning debut’ – Stacey, Five-star Reader Review

‘A first person narrative that shows how the life of a middle-aged woman working as a funeral cryer in China is deeply linked to the people who touch her life and the way they treat her.’ – Kate Poels, Five-star Reader Review

‘A remarkable novel that explores themes of marriage, family relationships, elderly care, and gender equality […] this book offers a unique reading experience and an opportunity for deep contemplation.’ – Rui, Five-star Reader Review

‘Excellent literary fiction. […] Simultaneously the story speaks to the rural economic desperation, the separation of town and country, they way the young move to the cities and are often left with no other option to finance themselves than selling themselves. The huge discrepancy between the haves and have-nots is very evident.’ – Cheryl M-M, Five-star Reader Review

Publisher Review

A more wry exploration of grief is Wenyan Lu's The Funeral Cryer, about a professional mourner in rural China. Oscillating between tragedy and comedy, Wenyan's novel is a refreshing perspective on mourning, as well as a moving tale of a social outcast. -- Katie Goh * i-D Magazine * I adored The Funeral Cryer about a professional mourner. The prose is elegant and restrained, yet still manages to convey the protagonist's anger that simmers between the pages like a dormant volcano. Highly recommend this stunning debut. -- Stacey Thomas * Stacey Thomas, author of THE REVELS * This thought-provoking story will stay with me a long time [...] spectacular. -- Diane Billas, author of DOES LOVE ALWAYS WIN? * GoodReads * It is an exquisite, wholesome and insightful read about a China which many of us might never otherwise have a chance to visit. A jolly good book. -- Chikodili Emelumadu * Chikodili Emelumadu, author of DAZZLING * In haunting, elegiac prose, Wenyan Lu paints a world and profession that few of us are aware of in contemporary, rural China. How a professional mourner, a manipulator of emotions, wrestles with her own midlife crisis is at turns both tragic and comic, and has wide resonance beyond its rural setting. -- Yvonne Singh, Journalist, Editor, Judge SI Leeds 2020