Lanny is depicted as untainted by the moral failings of the adults around him. As a child, his purity is precarious—not only because he will grow up, but because his childishness makes him vulnerable to those who might prey on goodness. 

by Natalie Tsay The castle was so much smaller than I remembered. My pulse quickened as we approached the front gates and joined the impossibly long line leading to them. I had already waited months for the trip, and yet … Read more

In each story, rural China grates against urbanization. Tradition grates against technology, and poverty grates against new wealth. 

The poems move between both the urgency and complacency of living in a world which is being destroyed by our way of life. 

The rhythm of this collection is in the arrangement of its stories which moves like a revolving door between past and present.