Tibet, warts and all

In the world of Alai, a Tibetan village in the throes of a 50-year tumultuous transformation is a microcosm of rural China at large.

"The protagonist of my novel is the village, not a person, and this village is broken and unstable, with an array of people on center stage at various times," says Alai, author of the six-volume Hollow Mountain.

Over the weekend, Alai won the title of "Outstanding Author of 2008" from the Media Award for Chinese Language Literature. Last year, he published the last installment of his magnum opus. But the award, notes Xie Youshun, one of the judges, is more for the complete work than for the denouement.