John Lee is a migrant from Beijing who has lived in Auckland for three decades. Formerly a librarian, he leads an increasingly lonely and misanthropic life, reduced to selling second-hand goods, and living in a marriage of convenience with his disabled wife, whom he treats with contempt. When he becomes infatuated with a young student who lodges in their house, and puts his life savings behind a scheme to export powdered milk to China, the dubious balance with which he has held his life together comes apart, and feelings of alienation and humiliation turn to violent obsession.
Dry Milk is a work of fiction that gives, through its unmoored narrator, a uniquely dark perspective on Antipodean culture. The story of an immigrant alienated from his new home, both its New Zealand and Chinese communities, Huo Yan’s novella is a stark portrait of social isolation, and of the experience of some of those who left China after the Cultural Revolution.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. John Lee is a lonely and increasingly misanthropic Chinese migrant whohas lived in Auckland for thirty years, running a second-hand junk shop whilemaintaining a relationship of disdain with his disabled wife. When hebecomes infatuated with a young international student who lodges in theirhouse, and puts his life savings behind a scheme to export powdered milk toChina, the dubious balance with which he has held his life together comes apart,and feelings of alienation and humiliation begin to spiral out of control.Dry Milkis a work of fiction that gives a perspective on Antipodean culture unlike anyother, told from the point of view of an immigrant alienated from his new home,both its New Zealand and Chinese communities. Huo's novella is a stark portraitof social isolation, and of the experience of the emigrants that left China inthe period after the Cultural Revolution. Capturing the voice of China's post-1980sliterary generation, the book is written with an obsessive intensity thatechoes Patricia Highsmith, Elias Canetti and the short novels of ElenaFerrante. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781925336993
Seller: AussieBookSeller, Truganina, VIC, Australia
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. John Lee is a lonely and increasingly misanthropic Chinese migrant whohas lived in Auckland for thirty years, running a second-hand junk shop whilemaintaining a relationship of disdain with his disabled wife. When hebecomes infatuated with a young international student who lodges in theirhouse, and puts his life savings behind a scheme to export powdered milk toChina, the dubious balance with which he has held his life together comes apart,and feelings of alienation and humiliation begin to spiral out of control.Dry Milkis a work of fiction that gives a perspective on Antipodean culture unlike anyother, told from the point of view of an immigrant alienated from his new home,both its New Zealand and Chinese communities. Huo's novella is a stark portraitof social isolation, and of the experience of the emigrants that left China inthe period after the Cultural Revolution. Capturing the voice of China's post-1980sliterary generation, the book is written with an obsessive intensity thatechoes Patricia Highsmith, Elias Canetti and the short novels of ElenaFerrante. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781925336993