Best Fiction Writer

Death of a Red Heroine is a bona fide hit. The mystery that combines modernist poetry, Chinese cuisine, the Cultural Revolution and a murder that hints of illicit sexual activity in prudish Red China made it into paperback this year, with a blurb from NPR naming it one of the best books of the year. Qiu, who has done a fair amount of translation himself, including transforming the poetry of T.S. Eliot into his native tongue, has seen his book published in a number of different languages across Europe. The success couldn't have happened to a nicer guy: Qiu, like his detective hero, is polite, loves good food (he'll pile the barbecued spare ribs onto your plate at lunchtime) and is earnest in matters of politics, poetry and crime. He's already working on a sequel. Is it too outlandish to dream of Ang Lee's getting hold of this book and breathing cinematic life into Death?