Thousands of prices just dropped across Thryft
Our price drop is now live! Find lowered prices on thousands of one-of-a-kind finds across Thryft
Free delivery on all orders above RM80 to Malaysia
Get 10% off all year round! Join Thryft Club
Buy 3 Get Another Free On All Under S$10

Your cart

Your cart is empty

Check out these collections!

Bestselling Fiction
Bestselling Nonfiction
Bestselling Books for Children
Vintage and Rare Books
Vinyl Records
Women's Clothing
Men's Clothing

Find more of what you love

Get thoughtful picks from Thryft’s ever-changing collection of pre-loved books, vinyl and CDs—plus occasional sales and events.

By signing up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Thryft. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Pow!

by Mo Yan, Howard Goldblatt
Pow!
Pow!

Grotesque satire for fearless, darkly curious readers

If you like novels that are wild, excessive, and a little shocking, this one sounds like a feverish banquet of absurdity and violence. Mo Yan turns gluttony, family tragedy, and rural chaos into something strangely funny, so you’re laughing even as things spiral into madness. It feels big, unruly, and unforgettable, especially for readers who enjoy literary fiction that bites hard and refuses to behave.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Pow!

by Mo Yan, Howard Goldblatt
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

Find out more about our process here.

Special Offer

Save 10% On This Item as a Thryft Club Member

Join Thryft Club for S$30/year and enjoy 10% off everything, plus S$10 off your first order. Join now.

ISBN: 9780857420763
Authors: Mo Yan, Howard Goldblatt
Publisher: Seagull Books
Date of Publication: 2012-12-15
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Related Topics: World War II, Asian Literature, Literature
Goodreads rating: 3.51
(rated by 624 readers)

Description

In this novel by the 2012 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Mo Yan, a benign old monk listens to a prospective novice’s tale of depravity, violence, and carnivorous excess while a nice little family drama—in which nearly everyone dies—unfurls. But in this tale of sharp hatchets, bad water, and a rusty WWII mortar, we can’t help but laugh. Reminiscent of the novels of dark masters of European absurdism like Günter Grass, Witold Gombrowicz, or Jakov Lind, Mo Yan’s Pow! is a comic masterpiece. In this bizarre romp through the Chinese countryside, the author treats us to a cornucopia of cooked animal flesh—ostrich, camel, donkey, dog, as well as the more common varieties. As his dual narratives merge and feather into one another, each informing and illuminating the other, Mo Yan probes the character and lifestyle of modern China. Displaying his many talents, as fabulist, storyteller, scatologist, master of allusion and cliché, and more, Pow! carries the reader along quickly, hungrily, and giddily, up until its surprising dénouement. Mo Yan has been called one of the great novelists of modern Chinese literature and the New York Times Book Review has hailed his work as harsh and gritty, raunchy and funny. He writes big, sometimes mystifying, sometimes infuriating, but always entertaining novels—and Pow! is no exception.
 

Grotesque satire for fearless, darkly curious readers

If you like novels that are wild, excessive, and a little shocking, this one sounds like a feverish banquet of absurdity and violence. Mo Yan turns gluttony, family tragedy, and rural chaos into something strangely funny, so you’re laughing even as things spiral into madness. It feels big, unruly, and unforgettable, especially for readers who enjoy literary fiction that bites hard and refuses to behave.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Historical Fiction Books

Shop all
The Piano Teacher
Janice Y.K. Lee | Penguin Books

The Piano Teacher

In one line

Love and betrayal in war-torn Hong Kong.

Goodreads 3.36

Condition: Well Read

RM52.00 MYR RM30.00 MYR 42% off

74% off est. retail
Transcription
Kate Atkinson | Black Swan

Transcription

In one line

Espionage and consequences in post-war Britain.

Goodreads 3.49

Condition: Well Read

RM34.00 MYR RM26.00 MYR 24% off

59% off est. retail
The Heretic's Daughter
Kathleen Kent | Little Brown And Company

The Heretic's Daughter

In one line

Historic courage in the face of witch trials.

Goodreads 3.79

Condition: Well Read

RM71.00 MYR RM37.00 MYR 48% off

Libertie
Kaitlyn Greenidge | Tbs/gbs/transworld

Libertie

In one line

Freedom beyond a prescribed future

Goodreads 3.48

Condition: Like New

RM52.00 MYR

The Illuminations
Andrew O'Hagan | Farrar, Straus And Giroux

The Illuminations

In one line

Intimate exploration of memory, war, and family.

Goodreads 3.41

Condition: Well Read

RM52.00 MYR RM37.00 MYR 29% off

Love, or Something Like Love
O. Thiam Chin | Math Paper Press

Love, or Something Like Love

In one line

Dark, visceral stories haunted by love and memory

Goodreads 3.5

Condition: Like New

RM50.00 MYR

Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India
Amish Tripathi | Harpercollins India

Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India

In one line

A forgotten king rises against invasion

Goodreads 3.96

Condition: Well Read

RM37.00 MYR

Son of Svea: A Tale of the People's Home
Lena Andersson, Sarah Death | Other Press

Son of Svea: A Tale of the People's Home

In one line

Satirical saga of Swedish social democracy dynamics.

Goodreads 3.66

Condition: Very Good

RM52.00 MYR RM34.00 MYR 35% off

61% off est. retail
Eastman Was Here
Alex Gilvarry | Penguin

Eastman Was Here

In one line

Darkly comic downfall of a literary narcissist

Goodreads 3.29

Condition: Well Read

RM37.00 MYR

Quarantine
Jim Crace | Farrar Straus Giroux

Quarantine

In one line

Survival and redemption in ancient Judean desert.

Goodreads 3.68

Condition: Well Read

RM34.00 MYR RM15.00 MYR 56% off

Historical Fiction Books

Shop all

Literary Fiction Books

Shop all
Quarantine
Jim Crace | Farrar Straus Giroux

Quarantine

In one line

Survival and redemption in ancient Judean desert.

Goodreads 3.68

Condition: Well Read

RM34.00 MYR RM15.00 MYR 56% off

The Deadly Space Between
Patricia Duncker | Picador

The Deadly Space Between

In one line

Oedipal complexities in a modern, digital backdrop.

Goodreads 3.05

Condition: Well Read

RM34.00 MYR RM19.00 MYR 44% off

Elizabeth Finch
Julian Barnes | Jonathan Cape

Elizabeth Finch

In one line

Introspective journey through philosophy and personal growth.

Goodreads 3.18

Condition: Well Read

RM26.00 MYR RM19.00 MYR 27% off

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Mohsin Hamid | Hamish Hamilton

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

In one line

Rags-to-riches journey in a cutthroat economy.

Goodreads 3.82

Condition: Well Read

RM34.00 MYR RM19.00 MYR 44% off

Land of the Well
Sampurna Chattarji | Harper Collins India

Land of the Well

In one line

Dark bildungsroman of friendship and psychological depth.

Goodreads 2.78

Condition: Well Read

RM34.00 MYR RM15.00 MYR 56% off

87% off est. retail
Singapore Classics: Ricky Star
Lim Thean Soo | Epigram Books

Singapore Classics: Ricky Star

In one line

Ambition’s glittering ascent meets its darkest reckoning.

Goodreads 2.67

Condition: Very Good

RM45.00 MYR

Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So
Ian Stewart | Basic Books

Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So

In one line

Playful mind-bending math through eleven dimensions

Goodreads 3.74

Condition: Good

RM41.00 MYR RM34.00 MYR 17% off

63% off est. retail
The Last Man Standing: The Story of Cadet Thomas Sneyk's Passage Through Officer Training
Phillip A Moses | Echo Books

The Last Man Standing: The Story of Cadet Thomas Sneyk's Passage Through Officer Training

In one line

Raw military training, moral collapse, relentless survival

Goodreads 4.0

Condition: Like New

RM52.00 MYR

36% off est. retail
Love, or Something Like Love
O. Thiam Chin | Math Paper Press

Love, or Something Like Love

In one line

Dark, visceral stories haunted by love and memory

Goodreads 3.5

Condition: Like New

RM50.00 MYR

Slow Man
J.M. Coetzee | Random House Uk Ltd

Slow Man

In one line

A wounded life interrupted by intrusive fiction

Goodreads 3.45

Condition: Well Read

RM37.00 MYR

54% off est. retail

Literary Fiction Books

Shop all

You might enjoy this if…

View book details