{"product_id":"pre-order-masters-of-sleep-and-other-stories","title":"[Pre-Order] Masters of Sleep and Other Stories","description":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003enow available for pre-order * forthcoming in July\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is an anthology featuring some of Zhu’s most cerebral and critically acclaimed stories, selected and translated from three of his Chinese story collections: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Bleary-Eyed Traveler\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (2006), \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (2010), and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChaos of Fiction\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (2015). Blending the surreal with the philosophical, these stories unfold in imagined premises that nevertheless retain recognizable social and emotional realities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe collection is divided into three sections: “Enigmas,” “Quandaries,” and “Fables.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn “Enigmas,” most of the characters partake in mysterious missions and eccentric obsessions. For example, since her birth, Miss Margaret’s parents have maintained a museum dedicated to collecting every trace of her physical existence: her hair, nails, bodily fluids, and so on (“The Private Museum of Miss Margaret”). “Masters of Sleep,” the title story, adopts the form of a biographical encyclopedia to recount the lives of several sleep masters who publicly performed the act of falling asleep under impossible and dangerous circumstances, including sleeping inside a tiger cage. Many of the characters in this section have Western names and come from Europe or the United States; many of the stories are also explicitly set in Europe or the United States.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the second section, “Quandaries,” most of the characters find themselves in situations defined by danger, contradiction, or personal limitation. Set in an imaginary Wild West, one protagonist produces gold by digging into his own body, only to become the target of a violent gang (“Gold”). “Takasikou Aisyusei” and “Koyata Fukao’s Spearplay” are the only two stories set in an imaginary Japan. Both protagonists are aspiring warriors with their own problems to solve. Aisyusei, though skilled in swordplay, is unable to compete because he cannot kill. Fukao excels in swordplay, but he is troubled by his reputation as “Koyata the Runner,” as he must use footwork to save himself in most duels. To rid himself of the shameful nickname, he turns to spearplay, a discipline for which he proves to have no talent, and this choice nearly leads to his death.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe final section, “Fables,” draws on the tradition of allegory. “My Poor Girlfriend” and “Leaving Home” are two of the three stories set in China (the third being “Running” in the first section). “My Poor Girlfriend” depicts a dystopian society in which a run-down hospital replaces the protagonist’s girlfriend’s body parts with ordinary household objects after surgery. Her fingers are now wheat noodles, and her upper and lower body are attached by a paper clip. Despite this, her devoted boyfriend still tries to help her retain a sense of hope. “Leaving Home” follows a young man who has dreamt of escaping his rural hometown since childhood. When he finally does, however, he finds himself utterly alone on an alien planet, waiting endlessly for others to come join him.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcross the stories, Zhu Yue playfully interrogates many so-called “Western” ideals and values: To what extent is a person’s physical existence a sufficient expression of their individuality? What is the value of invention if it has no practical use? And how much of ourselves are we willing to sacrifice for wealth and greatness? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eZhu Yue was born in 1977 in Beijing and began writing fiction in 2004. Influenced by Ludwig Wittgenstein and Richard Brautigan, he is widely known for his experimental and surreal style, often crafting stories that contain seemingly infinite worlds and possibilities. In a literary culture where most established writers belong to state-sponsored Writers' Associations, Zhu remains a rare outsider, receiving no institutional support or recognition. Despite this, his work has attracted a cult following in China. Trained as a lawyer and later an editor, he is also a published philosophy scholar. To date, he has published five story collections: \u003cem\u003eThe Bleary-Eyed Traveler\u003c\/em\u003e (2006), \u003cem\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/em\u003e (2010), \u003cem\u003eChaos of Fiction\u003c\/em\u003e (2015), \u003cem\u003eRunning Wild\u003c\/em\u003e (2021), and \u003cem\u003eThe Sea of Imagination\u003c\/em\u003e (2024).\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Translators \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJianan Qian\u003c\/strong\u003e is a bilingual writer from Shanghai, China. In Chinese, she has published four original works and translated several iconic authors including Shirley Jackson. In English, her works have appeared in \u003cem\u003eGranta, Guernica, The Los Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing at Towson University in Maryland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlyssa Asquith\u003c\/strong\u003e is a writer from Massachusetts. Her stories have appeared in \u003cem\u003eThe Adroit Journal, X-R-A-Y, HAD, Atticus Review, Okay Donkey\u003c\/em\u003e, and elsewhere. She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePraises\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhu Yue thinks like a sage, and writes like a brat.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Shanghai Review of Books\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhu Yue’s stories may feel like pure imagination, almost detached from reality. Yet, sometimes, reality may indeed shadow his stories. Recently, a news article described our contemporary society as being haunted by an odd ghost, a ghost that goes by many names: exhaustion, depression, burnout…Perhaps we lack nothing except sleep. We are so tired that we could fall asleep at any moment. Reading that article immediately reminded me of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBeijing News\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat a wonderful introduction to such a witty, expansive writer. I will be returning to these stories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAimee Bender, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Butterfly Lampshade\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor readers who value not only stories that no one else has ever written but stories that no one else has ever \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ethought\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e to write, Zhu Yue counts as a major discovery. One of this collection’s lovely, surreal, wickedly funny stories describes the hostility that erupts between two schools of a particular art form—stacking. The first school of stacking strives for abundance and magnificence; the second, for purity and delicacy. Somehow, miraculously, Zhu’s writing manages to participate in both these schools at once. Each of his stories, you sense, is just one among countless tiny flourishing little perfectly colored word-objects. I think of Zhu Yue as a member of one of my favorite informal literary collectives, that international body of practitioners who specialize in microfictional strangeness, and whose number includes Gonçalo M. Tavares (Portugal), Adam Ehrlich Sachs (America), Ana Maria Shua (Argentina), Alex Epstein (Israel), and Hervé Le Tellier (France).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere’s a sample sentence, borrowed from his flash suite “A Diagram of the Two Sexes,” that might serve as a sort of litmus test: “The daughter of a truck, for instance, cannot marry a young man who will become a drawer, as drawers are genetically incompatible with automobiles.” Quite simply, if you read a sentence such as this and it brings you pleasure, then \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the book for you.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKevin Brockmeier, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Ghost Variations\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe ideal confection for anyone who thinks Chinese literature is limited to peasant sagas, proletarian fiction, and investigations of nationalism and communism, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a book of goofy, often mischievous philosophical inventions. While Zhu Yue is undoubtedly an heir of Borges, for him modernity poses less uncanny horror than, as it did for Raymond Roussel, Flann O’Brien, and Calvino, an opportunity for the sugar high of playful abstraction. The fanciful thrillpower of this book is perfect for anyone who has been furiously bored while reading realist literature.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKen Chen, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJuvenilia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMind-bendingly whimsical and profoundly satirical, Zhu Yue’s stories are at once sharp, eccentric and radical. His writing radiates with cosmopolitan wit while remaining deeply rooted in its own narrative tradition. An unmissable voice from China. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYan Ge, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eElsewhere\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, a dazzling collection of stories by Zhu Yue, is a cabinet of paradoxes where invention outpaces utility and dreamers gamble with reality. Richly imaginative yet piercingly humane, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMasters of Sleep\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a book about creating something out of nothing: a suite of fictions that awakens intellectual delight, emotional daring, and a liberating sense of what stories—and we—can be.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMatthias \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGöritz, author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eColonies of Paradise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat a treat for the reader!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNicky Harman, translator of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDiablo's Boys\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, co-founder of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaper Republic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eCopyright \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eText copyright ©2026 \u003cem\u003eby\u003c\/em\u003e Zhu Yue\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eTranslation copyright ©2026 \u003cem\u003eby\u003c\/em\u003e Jianan Qian \u003cem\u003eand\u003c\/em\u003e Alyssa Asquith\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eAll rights reserved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eISBN: 979-8-9864753-5-6\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eEditing \u003cem\u003eby\u003c\/em\u003e Na Zhong and David Brunson\u003cbr\u003eFront cover illustration \u003cem\u003eby\u003c\/em\u003e Jianan Qian\u003cbr\u003eBook design \u003cem\u003eby\u003c\/em\u003e Jingyi He\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eFirst edition: 2026\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eAccent Edition\u003cbr\u003eNew York, NY 10003\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AccentSisters","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47927089561652,"sku":null,"price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0608\/3395\/5892\/files\/mastersofSleep.png?v=1782173819","url":"https:\/\/accentsisters.myshopify.com\/products\/pre-order-masters-of-sleep-and-other-stories","provider":"AccentSisters","version":"1.0","type":"link"}