I Am China: A Novel

"Xiaolu Guo’s novels are bold expressions of individual will in the face of state control. In each, she explores, through idiosyncratic, quirky characters, the challenges and consequences of exerting identity. In her new book, Iona Kirkpatrick, a translator living a lonely, dissolute life in London, is handed a mysterious bundle of papers by her publisher. The bundle contains the diarylike letters that Kublai Jian, a Chinese dissident rock star in exile, has written to his absent lover, Deng Mu. As Iona translates the letters, she unravels the mystery of Jian — leading to a devastating conclusion."