{"product_id":"frontier-9781940953540","title":"Frontier","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew Novel from the Winner of the 2015 Best Translated Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction by Porochista Khakpour.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"One of the most raved-about works of translated fiction this year\"--Jonathan Sturgeon, \u003ci\u003eFlavorwire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrontier \u003c\/i\u003eopens with the story of Liujin, a young woman heading out on her own to create her own life in Pebble Town, a somewhat surreal place at the base of Snow Mountain where wolves roam the streets and certain enlightened individuals can see and enter a paradisiacal garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExploring life in this city (or in the frontier) through the viewpoint of a dozen different characters, some simple, some profound, Can Xue's latest novel attempts to unify the grand opposites of life--barbarism and civilization, the spiritual and the material, the mundane and the sublime, beauty and death, Eastern and Western cultures.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA layered, multifaceted masterpiece from the 2015 winner of the Best Translated Book Award, \u003ci\u003eFrontier \u003c\/i\u003eexemplifies John Darnielle's statement that Can Xue's books read \"as if dreams had invaded the physical world.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCan Xue \u003c\/b\u003eis a pseudonym meaning \"dirty snow, leftover snow.\" She learned English on her own and has written books on Borges, Shakespeare, and Dante. Her publications in English include \u003ci\u003eThe Embroidered Shoes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFive Spice Street\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVertical Motion\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Lover\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the 2015 Best Translated Book Award for Fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKaren Gernant \u003c\/b\u003eis a professor emerita of Chinese history at Southern Oregon University. She translates in collaboration with Chen Zeping.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChen Zeping \u003c\/b\u003eis a professor of Chinese linguistics at Fujian Teachers' University, and has collaborated with Karen Gernant on more than ten translations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePorochista Khakpour\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of two novels, \u003ci\u003eSons and Other Flammable Objects\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Illusion\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCan Xue\u003c\/b\u003e is a pseudonym meaning \"dirty snow, leftover snow.\" She learned English on her own and has written books on Borges, Shakespeare, and Dante. Her publications in English include, \u003ci\u003eThe Embroidered Shoes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFive Spice Street\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVertical Motion\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Lover\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the 2015 Best Translated Book Award for Fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKaren Gernant\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor emerita of Chinese history at Southern Oregon University. She translates in collaboration with Chen Zeping.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChen Zeping\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of Chinese linguistics at Fujian Teachers' University, and has collaborated with Karen Gernant on more than ten translations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePorochista Khakpour\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of two novels, \u003ci\u003eSons and Other Flammable Objects\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Last Illusion\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Open Letter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50641477533970,"sku":"9781940953540","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_62911b28-b492-4f98-ab39-268c159ab3c1.jpg?v=1733018764","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/frontier-9781940953540","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}