The Incarnations
A genre-defying literary epic for readers of R. F. Kuang, Marlon James and Emily St. John Mandel
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- 8,99 €
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- 8,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
THE GLOBAL CULT CLASSIC
An epic story of ghosts, obsession and betrayal spanning five lives and one thousand years of history.
A New York Times Editors' Choice and Notable Book of the Year; a Kirkus prize nominee
'Stunning. Flow along with this wonderful book.' Guardian
'Wildly ambitious... mesmerizing storytelling.' New York Times
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You must be wondering who I am. I am your soulmate... I have come to this city of sixteen million in search of you
One ordinary morning in Beijing, taxi driver Wang Jun discovers a letter hidden inside the sun visor of his cab. The anonymous writer claims they have known him for over a thousand years.
More letters follow. Each reveals another forgotten life they once shared.
A spirit-bride fleeing human sacrifice.
Two starving boys crossing the Gobi Desert as Genghis Khan sweeps across China.Palace concubines caught in a murderous conspiracy inside the Forbidden City.A fisherman pulled into the violence of the Opium Wars.Two schoolfriends divided by the Cultural Revolution.
As each new letter draws Drive Wang deeper into his past lives, he becomes convinced that the writer is stalking him, coming closer than he could ever have imagined.
History is coming for you
A kaleidoscopic novel of ghosts, reincarnation, history and impossible love, perfect for readers of R K Kuang, Marlon James, Emily St John Mandel and Cixin Ciu
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PRAISE FOR SUSAN BARKER:
'[A] kaleidoscopically imaginative novel...Barker stitches together an unnervingly perceptive portrait of China and of the enduring influence that its past has on the present' THE NEW YORKER
'A thrilling journey through a thousand years of obsession and betrayal, this is the most extraordinary work of imagination you'll read all year' ADAM JOHNSON, Winner of the PULITZER Prize for Fiction
'Erudite, intriguing and compulsively readable, Susan Barker, a born story-teller, has written one of the most remarkable novels of recent years' JOHN BOYNE, author of THE HEART'S INVISIBLE FURIES
'A hallucinatory ride. Highly recommend' ANNA HOPE, author of EXPECTATION and ALBION
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With her latest, Barker (Sayonara Bar) produces a page-turning reincarnation fantasy. In modern-day Beijing, Driver Wang receives anonymous letters from a source claiming to have known him in five previous lifetimes over the past 1,000 years. The letters narrate these lifetimes set in the Tang Dynasty, 632 C.E.; the Jin Dynasty, 1213; the Ming Dynasty, 1542; the Qing Dynasty, 1836; and the People's Republic of China, 1966 and paint them in lush historical detail, exhibiting Barker's extensive research. These two "souls" have inhabited many rich characters (eunuch, prostitute, slave, concubine, pirate, Red Guard) and have been friends, enemies, parents, and lovers. Every new incarnation reverses their power dynamic, giving one the opportunity to betray the other. Not for the squeamish, these historical narratives contain graphic torture and sexual violence. Meanwhile, Wang's current incarnation also includes a series of radical shifts and identities within a lifetime: born to a wealthy government official father and a mentally unstable mother, he has been a promising student, an asylum inmate, a closeted homosexual, a husband, a father, and a taxi driver. Driving the narrative is the suspense over the identity of Wang's stalker and whether the stories are indeed true. A very memorable read.
