title: Beijing Bastard: Coming of Age in a Changing China
author:  Val Wang 
description: Advance Praise for "Beijing Bastard"<br /><br /> "Val Wang has given us a memoir perfectly suited to the Beijing that she brings to life so well: heedless, pungent, and proudly insubordinate. She is both American and Chinese, fascinated by her ancestors' history and desperate to escape it. Like contemporary China itself, Wang is torn between the aspirations for success, idiosyncrasy, and belonging. A vivid and evocative read."<br /> --Evan Osnos, author of "Age of Ambition"<br /><br /> "Val Wang spins a rollicking tale of misadventure in Beijing, wonderfully engaging, filled with astute observations of modern China, and edged by a sharp wit that left me laughing out loud on the subway even as I concealed a tear at the last page."<br /> --Ann Mah, author of "Kitchen Chinese" and "Mastering the Art of French Eating"<br /><br /> "A spectacular debut by a writer with the most enviable gift a storyteller can have: timing. Like Arthur Phillips' "Prague" and other generation-defining works that capture a fleeting, golden moment in both the lives of a group of expatriates and a larger-than-life place, Val Wang's memoir of Beijing is shot through with insight, beauty, humor and sadness."<br /> --Ben Ryder Howe, author of "My Korean Deli"<br /><br /> "Takes readers effortlessly through the seemingly disparate worlds of a family divided across distance and generations. Wang's Beijing is gritty and bleak but also hopeful and exciting, and her affection for the city is palpable.... A deftly written and entertaining memoir that offers a fresh perspective on contemporary China and the people caught in its rapid transformation."<br /> --"Kirkus Reviews"<br /><br /><br /><br />Advance Praise for "Beijing Bastard" <br /> "Val Wang has given us a memoir perfectly suited to the Beijing that she brings to life so well: heedless, pungent, and proudly insubordinate. She is both American and Chinese, fascinated by her ancestors' history and desperate to escape it. Like contemporary China itself, Wang is torn between the aspirations for success, idiosyncrasy, and belonging. A vivid and evocative read."<br /> --Evan Osnos, author of "Age of Ambition" <br /> "Val Wang spins a rollicking tale of misadventure in Beijing, wonderfully engaging, filled with astute observations of modern China, and edged by a sharp wit that left me laughing out loud on the subway even as I concealed a tear at the last page."<br /> --Ann Mah, author of "Kitchen Chinese" and "Mastering the Art of French Eating" <br /> "A spectacular debut by a writer with the most enviable gift a storyteller can have: timing. Like Arthur Phillips' "Prague" and other generation-defining works that capture a fleeting, golden moment in both the lives of a group of expatriates and a larger-than-life place, Val Wang's memoir of Beijing is shot through with insight, beauty, humor and sadness."<br /> --Ben Ryder Howe, author of "My Korean Deli" <br /> "Takes readers effortlessly through the seemingly disparate worlds of a family divided across distance and generations. Wang's Beijing is gritty and bleak but also hopeful and exciting, and her affection for the city is palpable.... A deftly written and entertaining memoir that offers a fresh perspective on contemporary China and the people caught in its rapid transformation."<br /> --"Kirkus Reviews" <br /><br /><br /><br /> "Damn, that Val Wang can write real good. I couldn't get enough of her Beijing Bastard. This is the kinda book that makes you want to pack an extra lung and move to China."<br /> --Gary Shteyngart, author of "Absurdistan"
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  CHINA MIÉVILLE
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  EMBASSYTOWN
  
  
  
  
  
  MACMILLAN
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Latterday, 4
  
    
  
  WE WERE ALL WATCHING the new Ambassador.
  
  Ez hunkered down into a slightly pugnacious pose. He opened and closed his
  fists. I could tell he enjoyed what he was doing. He looked up at the Hosts
  from below a gathered brow.
  
  Ra watched them sidelong. He pulled himself up, so tall and straight that he
  seemed to teeter slightly. The two of them were so absurdly distinct it was
  like a joke that erred in overdoing it. I was reminded of Laurel and Hardy, of
  Merlo and Rattleshape, of Sancho Panza and Don Quixote.
  
  When they were done speaking, a wave of something went through all of us in
  Diplomacy Hall so palpably it was as if it rippled the ivy. I turned to Ehrsul
  and raised my eyebrows. We all knew this had been momentous, but there were
  perhaps a full five seconds before any of us realised that anything bad had
  happened.
  
  THE HOSTS were swaying as if they were at sea. One spasmed its giftwing and
  its fan