If you liked "Whispering Shadows", you already know Paul and his family and will want to know how their story goes on. If you like books about China, expats, crime stories, you will love this series which already has a third book (The Far Side of the Night).
This is an interesting book about the life not just of foreigners in China but also about the lives of people both in urban and rural China. Paul and Christine visit her ancestor's village after receiving some disturbing news. Here they find the clash between the people in the village and the greed of a large company, the corruption of politicians. Yes, we all know those plots but Jan-Philipp Sendker has a great talent to describe it.
Like in all his other books, the author is able to tell both the story as well as describing the background. He has a wonderful way with words, you can tell he is a journalist.
I could well imagine that one day someone will make a film out of this.
I am definitely looking forward to reading his next books which will probably be the sequels to his Burma story, "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" (German: Das Herzenhören).
From the back cover:
"Paul Leibovitz is 53, living in Hong Kong, deeply in love with the city, its culture, and most of all, Christine. When a fortune teller predicts the death of someone she loves, however, the pair are once again thrust into the murky criminal world of Hong Kong and forced to fight for their lives. We learn the details of Christine's dark family history which is mired in the horrors and iniquities of Mao's cultural revolution and now her brother and his family who are living in rural China are victims of a very modern ecological scandal that is every bit as terrifying as past atrocities."
These are the books in the Rising Dragon (China) trilogy:
"Whispering Shadows" (German: Das Flüstern der Schatten) (The Rising Dragon #1) - 2007
"Dragon Games" aka "The Language of Solitude" (German: Drachenspiele) (The Rising Dragon #2) - 2009
"The Far Side of the Night" (German: Am anderen Ende der Nacht) (The Rising Dragon #3) - 2016
This sounds like an intriguing series. I hadn't heard of it before, but now I'm definitely going to check it out. Thanks for the heads-up :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. A lot of the German authors (and those of other European countries) aren't as well known abroad. So, I'm glad I can tell the world about them, albeit only my small community of bloggers but I know they pass it on in their countries. I hope you love his books as much as I do.
DeleteI have never tried this author, but this one sounds really good, thanks for presenting it
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Emma. It's the second in a trilogy, so best start with the first one. I mean, you can read them separately but it's certainly nicer to start where they start. Enjoy.
DeleteSounds like captivating stories, I can see why you like them!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah. He has also written a great non-fiction book, unfortunately, that one has not been translated. Yet, I hope.
DeleteAlways seems to be my luck with interesting titles that you post, lol
DeleteWell, I usually post only those books that have been translated, with just a few exceptions. I wouldn't be surprised if his non-fiction book does get to be translated, though.
DeleteNew author for me, but I do love a good dragon story! Looking at his other titles, I'm finding many that intrigue me. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Jen. Not really a story about dragons but of modern day China. Still, highly interesting and entertaining at the same time.
DeleteI loved his book "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats". It was such a wonderful, beautiful story. Always wanted to read something else by him, but as usual, never got around to do it. Will check out for this book.
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Lisbeth. I am always happy if someone else supports my claim of a good book. I loved all of his books, even the non-fiction one.
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