At TF we came across Peirene Press very early in our researches - they specialise in contemporary European literature, that is thought provoking, well designed and short. They have a perfect strapline from the TLS which absolutely sums up the books they produce: "Two-hour books to be devoured in a single sitting: literary cinema for those fatigued by film". Click on the cover to see reviews and to find our more!
We feature the Sea of Ink by Richard Weihe which spans much of the 17th century in China. It follows the life of Zhu Da, a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, who has the tremendous gift of producing beautiful pieces of artwork. His scholarship progresses, as his character morphs and adapts to the new regime of the Manchus, through Buddhism studies to feigned madness, in an attempt to can keep his integrity as an artist and continue his quest to capture the essence of nature with a single brushstroke. The book is a thought-provoking study of scholarship and persona, and is beautifully translated from the German original.
The Sea of Ink in the title refers to the highest category of scholarship that could be attained. The book has a scattering of delicate and contemplative picture postcard vignettes of the work of Shu Da, who by the ends calls himself Bada Shanren (the name under which he is remembered and his work classified). The prose is delicate and contemplative and his artwork simple in nature and beautifully composed. A dream of a novella for those interested in art and this period of Chinese history.
Click here to see more of our featured fiction set in, and evocative of China. Please add any books set in China that you have liked and have evoked the country.
We have a rolling selection of books that we can send to you for review. If you are interested, click on the blogpost on the right hand side bar "Review Copies for Readers" to see the books currently available for review.
Looking back over our (almost) first year of Tripfiction, one of the wonderful things we can say is that we have been introduced to glorious novels that we might never otherwise have encountered.
Here we choose some of the books that have crossed our path this year, and that have really caught our imagination - both because they are evocative of location and offer a great storyline. These are the TripFiction top books of the year!
NO. 1. In the quiet of a New Zealand winter's night, a rescue helicopter is sent to airlift a five-year-old boy with severe internal injuries. He's fallen from the upstairs veranda of an isolated farmhouse, and his condition is critical. At first, Finn's fall looks like a horrible accident; after all, he's prone to sleepwalking. Only his frantic mother, Martha McNamara, knows how it happened. And she isn't telling. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Tragedy isn't what the McNamara family expected when they moved to New Zealand. (UK release 3rd January, 2013)
Set in Hawke's Bay and Napier, New Zealand
NO.2. A young woman travels from Edinburgh to Peking in the early 20th century,and writes about her experiences in diary form. She is trapped in a loveless marriage to a stiff and conventional man, and then falls in love with a Japanese warrior and pays dearly for that passion. It is then that Mary's real journey begins, as she begins to forge a new life for herself in Tokyo.
Set in Peking, China and Tokyo, Japan
NO.3. Harmattan (from an Arabic word meaning destructive wind ) tells the story of Haoua, a young girl growing up in a remote village in the Republic of Niger. Spirited, independent, and intelligent, Haoua has benefitted from a stable home life and a loving and attentive mother. She finds contentment in her schoolwork, her dreams of becoming a teacher and in writing assiduously to the family in Ireland who act as her aid sponsors. But for her, there are new storm clouds on the horizon. Haoua's mother's illness is much more serious and further advanced than anyone had recognised and her father's plans are turning out to be far more threatening than she could have ever imagined. Approaching her twelfth birthday, Haoua is alone and vulnerable for the very first time in her life.
Set in Niger, Africa
NO.4. Having left her job and boyfriend, thirty-year-old Sandra decides to stay in a Spanish village in order to take stock of her life and find a new direction. She befriends Karin and Fredrik, an elderly Norwegian couple, who provide her with stimulating company and take the place of the grandparents she never had. However, when she meets Julian, a former concentration-camp inmate who has just returned to Europe from Argentina, she discovers that all is not what it seems and finds herself involved in a perilous quest for the truth.
Set in Javea, Spain
NO.5. For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital. Soon the family's world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus. Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labour, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood - the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival.
Set in Cambodia
Please add your personal top reads for this year - evocative of location together with a great storyline - in the Comments Box below.
Where to start to suggest novels set in and evocative of China? It's such a big country and there are so many books, set in so many different regions that will transport you this area of the world. We have, therefore, chosen three personal favourites to send our readers on their way. Click on the covers to find out more about each book and you have an option to purchase - any book bought through our site means we receive a small percentage of revenue, at no cost to the purchaser and this will help us build TripFiction into an even more valuable resource for travellers.
The Foremost Good Fortune by Susan Conley has long been a favourite of ours. It is a very personal story, set in Beijing, as the author struggles with her own health issues and adjusts to a very different life in a foreign country.
“The Foremost Good Fortune is a beautiful story of womanhood, motherhood, travel and loss, written by an author of rare and radiant grace.” Elizabeth Gilbert
River Town by Peter Hessler, is a "way of seeing" a country, descriptions abound and insights are plentiful. Hessler, an American student, takes up an English teaching post in the remote town of Fuling where the River Wu meets the Yangtze. He starts by learning some of the characters on a sign and by the end he can read so much more - and in between he has taken the reader through his experiences of life in this little town, populated by fascinating characters.
Who could resist a book with such a delectable title? Home is a Roof over a Pig by Aminta Arrington - This is the story of one family's culture shock, as they settle to a new life in China. If you are relocating, or want greater understanding, or retrospectively want to capture time you have spent in China, then this is definitely a read for you.
Become part of the TripFiction community - come and suggest books that are evocative of places. Come and write reviews - nothing complex needed, just share your thoughts. And check our our Facebook page where we load books that have caught our eye
whilst researching new books. And, as ever, if you can suggest terrific titles that bring China to life, share your insight in the Comments Box below, we love to hear from you.
