Memoirs of Mei River chronicles the life of Chu Huainan, a protagonist whose youth was shaped by revolutionary ideals fueled by dissatisfaction with the Kuomintang's corruption. Believing in a utopian vision of socialist public ownership, Chu Huainan endures decades of political upheavals, witnessing the rise and fall of state-owned enterprises and the unexpected success of private businesses in Mei River. The narrative weaves through historical movements such as land reform, the Anti-Rightist Movement, the Cultural Revolution, and the reform era, reflecting the complexities of societal changes in 20th-century China. The story explores the paradoxes of Chu Huainan's personal life, from family tragedies to ideological conflicts, all set against the backdrop of China's rapid economic development. As Mei River prospers, Chu Huainan confronts the widening wealth gap and questions the efficacy of his lifelong commitment to ideals like public ownership and revolution. The novel delves into the struggles of belief systems, posing profound inquiries about equity, revolution, and the inherent injustices of those in power. Chu Huainan's tumultuous journey, mirroring China's 20th-century challenges, raises broader philosophical questions about humanity's search for meaning and values. The novel prompts readers to reflect on the futility of rigid belief systems in solving the multifaceted problems of human existence, leaving Chu Huainan in a state of confusion and existential questioning. Through his personal and political tribulations, the novel explores themes of benevolence, righteousness, and tolerance as enduring values necessary for navigating the complexities of life.

Bestselling Chinese American author Adeline Yen Mah weaves her authentic accounts of life in China into an absorbing novel about a Chinese girl and her vision of a previous life. After a fall, CC is whisked away to a hospital. As she drifts in and out of consciousness, she is haunted by vivid dreams that seem strange—yet somehow familiar. Thus begins CC’s emotional journey back to a privileged life lived eight hundred years ago during the Song dynasty. CC is the daughter of a wealthy and influential man, but she finds herself drawn to a poor orphan boy with a startling ability to capture the beauty of the natural world. As the relationship between these two young people deepens, the transforming power of art and romantic love comes into conflict with the immovable rules of Chinese society. This stunning fantasy adventure novel, inspired by China’s most famous painting, Along the River at the Qing Ming Festival, tells the story of a friendship both tender and bold. CC’s remarkable journey reminds readers that though time moves on, art and love endure.

An intimate and revelatory account of two generations of students in China’s heartland, by an author who has observed the country’s tumultuous changes over the past quarter century More than two decades after teaching English during the early part of China’s economic boom, an experience chronicled in his book River Town, Peter Hessler returned to Sichuan Province to instruct students from the next generation. At the same time, Hessler and his wife enrolled their twin daughters in a local state-run elementary school, where they were the only Westerners. Over the years, Hessler had kept in close contact with many of the people he had taught in the 1990s. By reconnecting with these individuals—members of China’s “Reform generation,” now in their forties—while teaching current undergrads, Hessler gained a unique perspective on China’s incredible transformation. In 1996, when Hessler arrived in China, almost all of the people in his classroom were first-generation college students. They typically came from large rural families, and their parents, subsistence farmers, could offer little guidance as their children entered a brand-new world. By 2019, when Hessler arrived at Sichuan University, he found a very different China, as well as a new kind of student—an only child whose schooling was the object of intense focus from a much more ambitious cohort of parents. At Sichuan University, many young people had a sense of irony about the regime but mostly navigated its restrictions with equanimity, embracing the opportunities of China’s rise. But the pressures of extreme competition at scale can be grueling, even for much younger children—including Hessler’s own daughters, who gave him an intimate view into the experience at their local school. In Peter Hessler’s hands, China’s education system is the perfect vehicle for examining the country’s past, present, and future, and what we can learn from it, for good and ill. At a time when anti-Chinese rhetoric in America has grown blunt and ugly, Other Rivers is a tremendous, essential gift, a work of enormous empathy that rejects cheap stereotypes and shows us China from the inside out and the bottom up. As both a window onto China and a mirror onto America, Other Rivers is a classic from a master of the form.