Chen Xiwo is one of China's most controversial writers. For many years Chen went unpublished. Even when, in the early 2000s, he began to win recognition and prizes, his work continued to divide opinion due to its pessimistic view of human nature and its preoccupation with dark sexuality. In 2001 Chen won the Chinese Literature Media Prize with his novel My Dissipation (women de gouqie). In 2007, Chen's collection of novellas, Book of Offenses (maofan shu), was published by China's People's Literature Publishing House (Renmin Wenxue Chubanshe). However, one story was missing from the collection as published in China - deemed beyond the pale even for a collection of such literary merit: I Love My Mum.

In 2007 when I Love My Mum was banned in China, author Chen Xiwo went to court to protest the decision, and an uproar exploded in the Chinese media. I Love My Mum is a shocking tale of murder and incest, and a political metaphor. The police investigation centers on the relationship between a severely disabled man and his mother. Now Chen's story is available to read for the first time in an English translation. In addition to a complete translation of I Love My Mum, this book also contains a specially written authorial afterword, and an essay about the author's life and works.