Mo Yan (莫言)‘s short story: Carpenter and dog

[u/LightFu86]

This short story is undoubtedly a masterpiece by a Nobel Prize–winning author. If you ever have the chance to read it, don't miss it.

The story is exquisitely told through multiple narrators. Each narrator frequently digresses into seemingly unrelated stories, yet these threads gradually come together to form a complete tale about a carpenter and his dog. The story itself resembles a classical Chinese fable centered on causality and karma, and it also bears some resemblance to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling (蒲松龄).