English-language editions of two entertaining and insightful novels written by one of China's most accomplished novelists, the late Lao She, will soon be on bookshelves around the country.

Cat Country and Mr Ma and Son, translated respectively by two renowned scholars of Chinese literature, William A. Lyell and William Dolby, are being published by Penguin China.

Cat Country, arguably China's first foray into the realm of science fiction, revolves around a space traveler from China who crash-lands on an alien planet, where he discovers a country inhabited entirely by Cat People.