The Unfilial

If it runs in the family, you better get moving

A collection of four short stories on the brutal realities of family life in modern China. When a household crumbles, it’s always the women who are left picking up the pieces, but no one comes out looking good when caught in a vicious cycle of abuse. Come inside at your peril: after all, what’s a closet without its skeletons?

Modern China moves fast, leaving its people trailing behind. The mirage of a picture-perfect home compels some to gamble away the family house, while others live with debts of a shameful past. When something inevitably cracks, it’s always the women who are left to pick up the pieces.

In four stories, Yao Emei shines a brutally honest light on the crumbling foundations of the family unit with scalpel-sharp precision. As her characters struggle to escape a vicious cycle of abuse, come inside – or stare through the window – at your peril: after all, what’s a closet without its skeletons?