PUBLIC MARKS with tag mianmian

Literary infighting is rarely as gripping as it has been in China this year. The battle royale between Mian Mian, 29, and Wei Hui, 27—both apparently vying for recognition as China's "bad girl of letters"—has captivated even those who have not read their remarkably similar and steamy novels about sex, drugs and dropout chic. In April, Beijing banned both books. Soon U.S. readers will have a chance to see why, when both are published in the States. Here is an advance look, in the first English-language excerpts from the novels.