The dreamlike story of a young woman in contemporary Beijing forging a different life for
herself from one of our brightest new literary stars. One morning in autumn just after
breakfast Jia Jia finds her husband dead in the bathtub of their Beijing apartment. Next to
him is a piece of folded paper a sketch of a strange creature from his dream. He has left her
no other sign. Young alone and with many unanswered questions Jia Jia sets out on a journey.
It takes her deep into her past where for the very first time she begins to have a sense of
her future. 'Startlingly original... A portrait of alienated young womanhood as it is set free'
Guardian 'Rich and wild...it gets under your skin' Observer 'An Yu writes with style and in a
way that is hard to resist' Sunday Times 'A seductive sharply observed tale of love loss and
hope' Daily Mail
