"In a single year, my father left us twice. The first time, to end his marriage, and the second, when he took his own life. I was ten years old."Master storyteller Madeleine Thien takes us inside an extended family in China, showing us the lives of two successive generations--those who lived through Mao's Cultural Revolution and their children, who became the students protesting in Tiananmen Square. At the center of this epic story are two young women,...

Li-Xia, the daughter of a young concubine to an old silk farmer in rural China, escapes her destiny of becoming a concubine by outwitting her father's orders to bind her feet and running away with an English sea captain, and takes her first steps towards fulfilling her mother's dream of becoming a scholar.

Second in the Old Filth trilogy. "An astute, subtle depiction of marriage . . . absolutely wonderful" (The Washington Post).
Acclaimed as Jane Gardam's masterpiece, Old Filth is a lyrical novel that recalls the fully lived life of Sir Edward Feathers. The Man in the Wooden Hat is the history of his marriage told from the perspective of his wife, Betty, a character as vivid and enchanting as Filth himself.
They...

Set against the backdrop of developing modern China, a new novel is a coming-of-age tale, part family and social drama, as it follows two generations searching for belonging and opportunity in a rapidly changing world.

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND BOOKPAGE
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An expansive, eye-opening novel that captures the vibrancy of China today
 
Phoebe is a factory girl who has come to Shanghai with the promise of a job—but when she arrives she...

Wang Lang, a simple peasant farmer, takes as a wife a battered slave girl who becomes an indomitable, loyal woman. Working the land together, they prosper and increase their holdings, yet Wang eventually betrays his family and neglects the earth he had worshipped.

"Novel about residents of the city of Harbin, China." --cataloger's summary

Eagerly returning from the brutal war to his home, Maijia becomes known as the most bizarre and quirky person in his village. He treats his cats like children; he does not farm or work, yet he is more comfortable than anyone else.