Binu and the Great Wall

From the author of the international hit Raise the Red Lantern comes a gorgeous reimagining of the myth of the girl whose tears collapsed the Great Wall—the seminal myth in Chinese culture. Su Tong is China’s most provocative young writer. Binu and the Great Wall is spellbinding and shocking—a tour de force from an artist called “a writer to watch” by Kirkus Reviews and “a true literary talent” by Anchee Min. In Peach village, crying is forbidden. But as a child, Binu never learned to hide her tears. Shunned by the villagers, she faced a bleak future until she met Qiliang, an orphan who offered her his hand in marriage. Then, one day, Qiliang disappears. Binu learns that he has been transported hundreds of miles and forced to labor on a project of terrifying ambition and scale—the building of the Great Wall. Binu is determined to find and save her husband. Inspired by her love, she sets out on an extraordinary journey toward Great Swallow Mountain with only a blind frog for company. What follows is an unforgettable story of passion, hardship, and magical adventure.

Su Tong was born in Suzhou, China, in 1963, and currently lives in Beijing. He is the author of the novel Rice and the three-novella collection Raise the Red Lantern, the title story of which was made into an Oscar-nominated film by Zhang Yimou.