Hook, line and sinker

Fall of Giants by Welsh-born author Ken Follett. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Kitsch

Zuo Jing says that bestselling books are usually kitsch because they are part of mass culture, and kitsch is one of the characteristics of that.

For example, in the original manuscript of The Kite Runner, the wife of Amir, the main character, is an unpleasant American woman and the son of another character, Hassan, kills himself at the end of the novel. But at the suggestion of Hosseini's agent and an editor, Amir's wife was changed into a kind Afghanistan woman and Hassan's son is saved and ends up living in the United States with Amir's family. The adult Amir atones for a wrong he committed as a teenager, betraying his friend Hassan.

A touching plot, exotic settings and a happy ending give this book the basic elements of a bestseller. Among more than 260,000 readers on Douban, 10 percent have awarded it 6 points out of 10 or lower. A reader using the pseudonym Panda writes that the book's success underlines "the poor taste of a generation that grew up feeding on the kind of writing you see in Reader's Digest".

However, both Han Shashan of White Horse Time and Min Wei, editor of Fall of Giants, say that if a book is to be a bestseller in needs to be a good work.

"Only books that are well written have what it takes to be well received and to become bestsellers," Min says. "The most important thing is the content.

"We are also very confident about the Chinese market, and there is no need to worry that young people do not love reading in this digital age, when reading is fragmented because, for example, Fall of Giants is a heavy book."

Zuo says that kitsch works are selling well at the moment, but the market is going through a growing process.

"Bestsellers will spur readers' interest in reading and then good books will come out. It's hard for readers to immediately tap into highbrow reading."

The quality of bestsellers also reflects the educational level of a market, Zuo says.

"Predominantly young Chinese read to prepare for examinations, so people haven't formed a mature habit and taste for reading. That will take more time."