Winning words

Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano has plenty of fans among the Chinese literati, Xing Yi reports.

Compared to Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, who enjoys a wide readership in China and is a perennial favorite for the Nobel Prize for literature, the newly minted laureate Patrick Modiano seems less-known among general Chinese readers. But the French writer is held in high esteem by the literary circles, who believe that the Modiano's win is well-deserved if unexpected.

Dong Qiang, a professor of French literature at Peking University, told the media that since Modiano has been a celebrated writer in France, it's not a surprise that he won the prize. What surprised him was that a French writer was awarded the Nobel, since it was only six years ago that another French writer, Le Clezio, took the prize. The Swedish Academy is known for spreading the literature prize to authors from different countries.