Oxford. Fairlight Books. 2019. 152pp, paperback. Lindon, an Australian project manager with a failed marriage behind him, is lured to China with the promise of a lucrative salary. His task: to solve the problem of a ‘Nail House’, the home of a stubborn old man who refuses to relocate, even..... More about The Nail House
United Kingdom. Saqi Books. 2007. 126 pages, glossary, paperback. In a fit of jealousy, Xiao Yanqiu, star of "The Moon Opera", disfigures her understudy with boiling water. Spurned by the troupe, she turns to teaching. Twenty years later, "The Moon Opera" is restaged, under the patronage of a rich local... More about The Moon Opera
Melbourne. Tantanoola. 2017. 207pp, paperback. One of my Buddhism for dummies books says there are three fires to be avoided at all costs — desire, anger and delusion. I think my greatest desire - and delusion - is to see a meaning in the events that have taken place in... More about Letters from a Floating Life
Norwalk. EastBridge, 2003. Reprint. xix + 432pp, paperback. "Oil for the Lamps of China (1934) was a best-selling novel when it was first published, just a few years after Pearl Bucks The Good Earth (1931). The hero of the story is a keen, young American businessman who wants to bring... More about Oil for the Lamps of China
Queanbeyan. Critical Social Work Publishing House. 2017. Line illustrations, 105pp, paperback. "At the end of the 20th century, a young Australian botanist is sent to China by her secret boss to a secret place to find a secret plant that is wanted for a secret reason. "Don't ask, don't tell"... More about The Found One
New York. Pantheon Books. 2019. Notes, bibliography, 301pp, hardback in dustjacket. With the instincts of a master novelist, Ha Jin draws on a wide range of historical and literary sources to weave the life story of Li Bai (701-762), whose poems--shaped by Daoist thought and characterized by their passion, romance... More about The Banished Immortal. A Life of Li Bai (Li Po
United Kingdom. Hodder & Stoughton. 2010. 289 pages, paperback. Tucked away from the building sites of modern Shanghai are the beautiful mansions once owned by the smartest families in 1930s China. They have since been bought by rich businessmen and high-ranking members of the Communist Party. All except one. The... More about The Mao Case
United Kingdom. Bloomsbury. 2011. 354 pages, paperback. Nineteen-year-old Joy Louie has run away from her home in 1950s America to start a new life in China. Idealistic and unafraid, she believes that Chairman Mao is on the side of the people, despite what her family keeps telling her. How can... More about Dreams of Joy
NSW. Sydney University Press. 2019. Black and white photographic plates, 446pp, bilingual English and Chinese text, paperback. Serialised in 1909-1910, The Poison of Polygamy is a rare gem of Australian literature. The first novel of the Chinese-Australian experience, it follows the fortunes of a young man who leaves his wife... More about The Poison of Polygamy. A Social Novel
China. Penguin China, 2015. Translated from Chinese by Eric Abrahamsen. 320pp, paperback. Dongzhou City needs a new mayor. Devious plots, seduction, blackmail and bribery are all on the table in a no-holds-barred scramble for prestige and personal gain as the city's two vice-mayors compete for the top honour. At the... More about The Civil Servant's Notebook
