Cook, the Crook, and the Real Estate Tycoon

The Cook, the Crook, and the Real Estate Tycoon, by prize-winning Chinese novelist Liu Zhenyun is a novel of Beijing that paints a microcosm of contemporary China, dealing with classes at the two extremes: the super rich and the migrant workers who make them rich through deceit and corruption.

The protagonist, Liu Yuejin, is a work site cook and small-time thief whose bag is stolen. In searching fo...