'Midwife to the dying'

Michela Murgia unveils a Chinese translation of her Italian novel on 'mercy killing' of the 1950s, Chen Mengwei reports.

While big names in Italian literature, such as Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco, are known to some Chinese, the other Italian writers seem to find little mention in this country. The same is perhaps true about an average Italian's knowledge of Chinese literature, unless the author is Nobel-winner Mo Yan or someone with an international profile.

Now, bringing a little more of Italy to China is Michela Murgia, with her award-winning novel Accabadora.