Dreams of the Red Phoenix
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Unbridled Books
Published:29th Oct '15
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During the dangerous summer of 1937, a newly widowed American missionary finds herself and her teenage son caught up in the midst of a Japanese invasion of North China and the simultaneous rise of Communism. Meanwhile a charismatic Red Army officer requests her help and seems to have shared some surprising secret about her husband. Shirley must manage her grief even as she navigates between her desire to help the idealistic Chinese Reds fight the Japanese by serving as a nurse and the need to save both herself and her son by escaping the war-ravaged country before it's too late. Taking her own grandmother's life as inspiration, Virginia Pye, author of the critically-acclaimed debut novel River of Dust, has written a stunning new novel of Americans in China on the cusp of World War II.
"With cunning plot twists -- and especially an early one that leaves the reader amazed at her audacity -- Pye raises the ante while giving equal attention to creating well-drawn characters ... And as if that's not enough to grip the reader, her seamless and evocative prose enhances her story ... A tale of idealism and courage, deceit and treachery, "Dreams of the Red Phoenix" blends religion, family, geopolitics and history into a hearty, heartwarming and heart-rending feast of fact-based fiction, one inspired by Pye's imagination and rendered with care and love."--The Richmond Times-Dispatch "There's a comparison to Ballard's Empire of the Sun, but this unflinching look at a brutal era in a faraway place shares truth in its own way." --Kirkus "Gripping, convincing, and heartbreaking, Dreams of the Red Phoenix is powerfully evocative of the complexities of life in 1930's China. A real page-turner and thought-provoker -- wonderful." --Gish Jen
ISBN: 9781609531232
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 269g
288 pages