The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell
An astonishingly accomplished, vibrant and moving first novel set against the Shanghai background of Empire of the Sun and taking the reader to a final resolution in today's Los Angeles
My father was a millionaire in Shanghai in the 1930s...
Anna Schoene was a golden child. Her parents, Joseph and Genevieve, were rich American expats in Shanghai before the Japanese invaded, before the war intervened. Joseph Schoene had made his fortune living on his wits. He was in love with Shanghai, with China, with the idea of taking risks. Completely devoted to his daughter, he imbued her with the same love of China's turbulent city that he had. To Anna, it seemed that the idyll would last forever.
But when the Japanese army invaded, when war finally came, even Anna knew that the dream was over. Joseph, however, refused to leave. Instead, he sent his wife and daughter back to the States with the promise that they would soon be reunited. But that, too, would prove to be a dream.
Anna grows up in Los Angeles and slowly, over the years, begins to learn the real story of her father - both then in Shanghai and, finally, his last years in California. Their story, ultimately, is one of love and forgiveness - and of the great gifts that a parent can give a child.
The Distant Land of My Father is a moving, engaging and triumphant novel of discovery and rediscovery.
Format: Paperback | 384 pages
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.8 | 266g
Publication Date: 03 Mar 2003
Publisher: Random House
Imprint: Arrow Books
Publication City/Country: London, United Kingdom
Language: English
Edition Number: 1
ISBN10: 0099427966
ISBN13: 9780099427964
Condition: Good
A vintage book that has been read but is in good condition. Some minor damage to the cover including minor scuff marks on the bottom-right corner of the front cover, and minor creasing on the top-left corner of the back cover, but no holes or tears. The majority of pages are undamaged with minimal creasing, but no tearing. No pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text and no writing in margins. No missing pages.