DESCRIPTION:
Two lovers, separated by oceans and an oppressive political regime, desperate to find their way back to each other.
In a flat above a noisy north London market, translator Iona Kirkpatrick starts work on a Chinese letter: Dearest Mu, The sun is piercing, old bastard sky. I am feeling empty and bare. Nothing is in my soul, apart from the image of you. I am writing to you from a place I cannot tell you about yet…
In a detention centre in Dover exiled Chinese musician Jian is awaiting an unknown fate. In Beijing his girlfriend Mu sends desperate letters to London to track him down, her last memory of them together a roaring rock concert and Jian the king on stage. Until the state police stormed in.
As Iona unravels the story of these Chinese lovers from their first flirtations at Beijing University to Jian's march in the Jasmine Revolution, Jian and Mu seem to be travelling further and further away from each other while Iona feels more and more alive. Intoxicated by their romance, Iona sets out to bring them back together, but time seems to be running out.
I happened to receive this book in the mail for review purposes. There is only one problem, though. I know NOTHING about China. I know of NOTHING that is going on politically or socially (the music, etc.) Here are a few, small, one sentence reviews from other newspapers and magazines that makes me know this is NOT the right book for me.
"A multilayered exploration of politics and culture across three continents . . . . Cultural references, from Johnny Rotten to Erik Satie, are referred through a lens of Chinese politics." - The Guardian (London)
("Guo's) dark, witty fiction examines the interface between East and West . . . . This novel has bold, refreshing things to say about art and politics." - Financial Times
"Steeped in music, revolution, exile and romance, this is a story from the front linesof contemporary China."
"A book so piercingly urgent and relevant it is as if Guo has not so much published it as pressed it into your hand the very moment after writing the final sentence." - The Independent (London)
. . . . and one more . . . .
"A complex and fascinating political narrative. The lives of Jian and Mu, haunted by the turbulent history of Chinese politics (in particular, the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989), read like a eulogy for a lost vision of China." - The Observer
On the front cover of this paperback book I have, there is a musician. (My cover is completely different than what Goodreads show. After reading all that I did just on the front and back COVERS of this book, (with even more praise than what I have written down from what you are reading here, I knew I couldn't allow this book to sit and not get reviewed ASAP!
I have to admit - with this book, I even know I am too old to be reviewing it. I am in my 40's, and this book is calling to be reviewed NOW and to be reviewed by people who know what's going on in China between people in London and the US, too, and what is 'hip now, such as the current music scene, politics, etc. I am NOT that person. I know of NOTHING that is currently going on with China politically. Younger people will know a LOT MORE than what I do, so this is why I am offering this book to you! "I" am NOT the right fit for this book,
I AM PUTTING THIS BOOK UP FOR GIVEAWAY (SORRY, BUT IT'S FOR THE "US ONLY" BECAUSE OF POSTAGE COSTS) THIS GIVEAWAY HAS A CLAUSE - YOU "MUST" WRITE A REVIEW AS SOON AS YOU ARE DONE READING THIS BOOK! IT IS VITAL YOU POST YOUR REVIEW "ASAP"!
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