{"product_id":"straw-dogs-of-the-universe-9781646220625","title":"Straw Dogs of the Universe","description":"\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) Best Book Award \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA harrowing and redemptive immigrant story for readers of \u003ci\u003ePachinko\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA Chinese railroad worker and his young daughter--sold into servitude--in 19th century California search for family, fulfillment, and belonging in a violent new land \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Heaven and earth do not pick and choose.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThey see everything as straw dogs.\"\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eA sweeping historical novel of the American West from the little-seen perspective of those who helped to build it, \u003ci\u003eStraw Dogs of the Universe\u003c\/i\u003e traces the story of one Chinese father and his young daughter, desperate to find him against all odds. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter her village is devastated by famine, 10-year-old Sixiang is sold to a human trafficker for a bag of rice and six silver coins. Her mother is reluctant to let her go, but the promise of a better life for her beloved daughter ultimately sways her. Arriving in America with the profits from her sale and a single photograph of Guifeng, her absent father, Sixiang journeys across an unfamiliar American landscape in the hopes of reuniting her family. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs she makes her way through an unforgiving new world, her father, a railroad worker in California, finds his attempts to build a life for himself both upended and defined by along-lost love and the seemingly inescapable violence of the American West. A generational saga ranging from the villages of China to the establishment of the transcontinental railroad and the anti-Chinese movement in California, \u003ci\u003eStraw Dogs of the Universe\u003c\/i\u003e considers the tenacity of family ties and the courage it takes to survive in a country that rejects you, even as it relies upon your labor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eYE CHUN\u003c\/b\u003e is a bilingual Chinese American writer and literary translator. Her debut story collection, \u003ci\u003eHao\u003c\/i\u003e, was longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. She is also the author of two books of poetry, \u003ci\u003eTravel Over Water\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLantern Puzzle\u003c\/i\u003e; a novel in Chinese, \u003ci\u003ePeach Tree in the Sea\u003c\/i\u003e; and four volumes of translations. A recipient of an NEA Literature Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and three Pushcart Prizes, she teaches at Providence College and lives in Providence, Rhode Island.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Catapult","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50600827355410,"sku":"9781646220625","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a6ba9272-c834-4e44-910d-681f4f52fbdc.jpg?v=1737294989","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/straw-dogs-of-the-universe-9781646220625","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}