China Book Club: 'Stories of the Sahara' by Sanmao

Sanmao lived one of the most extraordinary lives of the past century. Selling fifteen million books as an author, she lived a nomadic lifestyle that is a distant dream for most Chinese people, who are shackled by cultural traditions of filial piety.

She is up there with Chairman Mao and Lu Xun as one of the most quoted historical figures throughout the Chinese diaspora. 'Stories of the Sahara' is an account of her life and love while living in the Sahara desert in the 1970s with her Spanish husband.