Littpod

Arriving in the UK at the age of almost 30 meant Xiaolu Guo was stripped of all she knew about reading and writing. To her, working as a writer, it was the equivalent of becoming illiterate. Five years later, Guo published her first book written in English and has since produced a number of critically acclaimed works which have been translated into 28 languages. The latest is a memoir, Once Upon a Time in the East (2018). In this conversation with Peter Nielsen, literary editor of Denmark’s Information, Guo talks about growing up in China, about language and identity – and about how overrated English-language literature really is.