In these twelve stories， we see the astonishing range of Mo Yan s vision - which critics reviewing The Republic of Wine have compared to that of Tolstoy. The stories range from the tragic to the comic， though Mo Yan s humor is always tinged with a shade of black. They embody， too， the author s deep and abiding love of his fellow man， equaled only by his intense disdain of bureaucracy and repression. His fiction is never didactic. Satire， fantasy， the supernatural， mystery: all are present in this remarkable， and intensely enjoyable， volume.