A tragicomic novel of a father and son coping with China’s Cultural Revolution, from “a true literary talent” (Anchee Min, author of Empress Orchid). Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize In a peaceful village, it has been officially proven that Ku is not, as was once believed, the son of a revolutionary martyr, but the issue of a river pirate and a prostitute. Mocked by his neighbors, Ku leaves the shore for a new life among the boat people. But refusing to renounce his high status, he—along with his teenage son—keeps his distance from the gossipy lowlifes who surround him. Then one day a feral girl, Huixian, arrives looking for her mother. The boat people, and especially Ku’s son, take her into their hearts. But Huixian sows conflict wherever she goes, and soon the boy is in the grip of...

A tragicomic novel of a father and son coping with China’s Cultural Revolution, from “a true literary talent” (Anchee Min, author of Empress Orchid). Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize In a peaceful village, it has been officially proven that Ku is not, as was once believed, the son of a revolutionary martyr, but the issue of a river pirate and a prostitute. Mocked by his neighbors, Ku leaves the shore for a new life among the boat people. But refusing to renounce his high status, he—along with his teenage son—keeps his distance from the gossipy lowlifes who surround him. Then one day a feral girl, Huixian, arrives looking for her mother. The boat people, and especially Ku’s son, take her into their hearts. But Huixian sows conflict wherever she goes, and soon the boy is in the grip of...