"A sly and damning piece of work." –Sam Sacks,
The Wall Street Journal "This slim comic novel, the first by acclaimed Chinese author Ge Fei to be translated into English, follows the travails of a likable loser trying to stay afloat–financially and emotionally–in contemporary Beijing. ...page by page, Cui lives by his own moral compass until readers find themselves rooting for this philosophical Everyman to overcome every setback Ge Fei throws his way.The plot may be slight, but the author packs in wit, social commentary, and an emotional depth that will lift the reader's spirits like few recent English-language books." –
Kirkus, starred review
"Shot through with an eerie melody." –
Publisher's Weekly
A hard and humorous look at corruption in Beijing, its dark humour is perfectly matched with the sharp social satire and enters the realm of the fantastic with great gusto.
–Asif Farrukhi,
The News on Sunday (Pakistan)