{"product_id":"9789629969332","title":"The Three Leaps of Wang Lun: A Chinese Novel","description":"In 1915, fourteen years before \u003ci\u003eBerlin Alexanderplatz\u003c\/i\u003e, Alfred Döblin published his first novel, an extensively researched Chinese historical extravaganza: \u003ci\u003eThe Three Leaps of Wang Lun\u003c\/i\u003e.  Even more remarkably, given its subject matter, the book was written in  Expressionist style and is now considered the first modern German  novel, as well as the first Western novel to depict a China untouched by  the West. It is virtually unknown in English. Based on actual accounts  of a doomed rebellion during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the late  18th century, the novel tells the story of Wang Lun, a historical  martial arts master and charismatic leader of the White Lotus sect, who  leads a futile revolt of the “Truly Powerless.” Densely packed cities  and Tibetan wastes, political intrigue and religious yearning, imperial  court life and the fate of wandering outcasts are depicted in a language  of enormous vigor and matchless imagination, unfolding the theme of  timidity against force, and a mystical sense of the world against the  realities of power.","brand":"New York Review Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47181061652720,"sku":"9789629969332","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9789629969332_p0.jpg?v=1763681134","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9789629969332","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}