River East River West Signed Paperback Special Edition

'Rey Lescure’s prose is cinematic, compelling, perceptive and poignant' The Guardian

'I ... loved Aube Rey Lescure's River East, River West, which portrays western expats in Shanghai with both clear-eyed critique and compassion' Rebecca F Kuang, author of Yellowface

A dark and glittering debut that traces a mixed family’s troubled trajectory through developing China

Shanghai, 2007: feeling betrayed by her American mother’s engagement to their rich landlord Lu Fang, fourteen-year-old Alva begins plotting her escape. But the exclusive American School – a potential ticket out – is not what she imagined.

Qingdao, 1985: newlywed Lu Fang works as a lowly shipping clerk. Though he aspires to a bright future, he is one of many casualties of harsh political reforms. Then China opens up to foreigners and capital, and Lu Fang meets a woman who makes him question what he should settle for...

A mesmerising reversal of the east–west immigrant narrative set against China’s economic boom, River East, River West is a deeply moving exploration of race, identity and family, of capitalism’s false promise and private dreams