Lost in the Long March, Michael X. Wang
Lost in the Long March, Michael X. Wang
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Lost in the Long March

Author: Michael X. Wang

Narrator: Feodor Chin

Unabridged: 10 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 03/19/2024


Synopsis

By a PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize–winning writer, a grand and unflinching debut novel set against the backdrop of Mao’s Long March and its aftermath

China, 1934: A naive orphan and shy gunsmith, Ping, has fallen in love with Yong, who is a sophisticated veteran, skilled sharpshooter, and true believer in Mao and the Marxist ideology. Winning Yong’s affections will take an ideological battle—something Ping does not at first understand.

As the Red Army begins its yearlong tactical retreat, the Long March, Yong turns to Ping for comfort and companionship. Yong becomes pregnant, and soon their son is born. The Army can’t retreat with a crying infant, so they leave the child with a village woman and promise to return once the war is won. … When World War II breaks out and Japanese
soldiers arrive in the village, their now twelve year-old son enlists in the Japanese army to find his parents.

Deeply moving and rendered in spare, muscular prose, Michael X. Wang’s marvel of a debut novel, Lost in the Long March, drives toward a shocking reunion and resolution. Following the characters to the China of the 1970s and Mao’s Communist Party as it has evolved, Michael X. Wang tells a story that masterfully contrasts the intimate with the political,
brilliantly revealing how the history of a country is always the story of its people, even though their stories can be the first to be lost.

“Michael X. Wang’s Lost in the Long March is a gripping examination of a pivotalchapter of Chinese history. Intimate yet sweeping, it’s poignantly told through the fate of one family in the decades that follow. A stellar debut.”—Vanessa Hua, bestselling and award-winning author of A River of Stars and Forbidden City

Reviews

Goodreads review by jessica on January 02, 2023

ughhh. parts 1-4 are near perfection. the history of the long march is interesting, the characters are quite likeable, the story isnt meant to be funny but the humour is top notch, and the writing is just very readable. its all soooo good. but then part 5 comes along and it lets me down. im personal......more

Goodreads review by JoAnn on September 06, 2022

If you love multigenerational historical novels, the kind that invoke profound and simultaneous sensations of sadness, regret, and compassion or which bring to light uncomfortable truths about ourselves, our objects of love, our innermost desires, then Lost in the Long March is for you. At first pas......more

Goodreads review by Kathleen on October 29, 2022

What a terrific read this is! Ping and Luo, both orphans, left their gang and joined up with Mao's forces, where they met Haiwu and Yong- and this is their story as well as the story of Ping and Yong's son Little Turnip who was lost during the Long March. Ping, a gun smith, befriends Haiwu, who lose......more

Goodreads review by Gail on May 17, 2022

Wang tackles a heartfelt story of soldiers who were on the Long March with Mao. The year is 1934, and a young soldier falls for the crack shooter in his unit that happens to be a woman. She has had a few past relationships, but this one forms as her last boyfriend is accidentally killed. They produc......more

Goodreads review by DeNise on October 16, 2022

This book is about a country and history I've never taken the time to learn about. Lost in the Long March was very informative. Holy cow though, what a heart wrenching story line! I found myself on the same emotional roller coaster as the characters and was almost always able to show empathy towards......more