The Boat to Redemption: A Novel

By: Su Tong

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Synopsis: A tragicomic novel of a father and son coping with China&’s Cultural Revolution, from &“a true literary talent&” (Anchee Min, author of Empress Orchid). Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize In a peaceful village, it has been officially proven that Ku is not, as was once believed, the son of a revolutionary martyr, but the issue of a river pirate and a prostitute. Mocked by his neighbors, Ku leaves the shore for a new life among the boat people. But refusing to renounce his high status, he—along with his teenage son—keeps his distance from the gossipy lowlifes who surround him. Then one day a feral girl, Huixian, arrives looking for her mother. The boat people, and especially Ku&’s son, take her into their hearts. But Huixian sows conflict wherever she goes, and soon the boy is in the grip of an obsession. Raw, emotional, and unerringly funny, this is a story of a people caught in the stranglehold not only of their own desires and needs, but also of a Party that sees everything and forgives nothing.