The Last Communist Virgin

New
Paperback
2007
$17.10

Wang Ping's The Last Communist Virgin is a beauty of a collection. She has interwoven the earthiness of China and the harshness of immigrant life . . . to create a series of short stories that are at once pitiful, heartbreaking, funny, and deeply inspiring. --Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
From the restaurants of New York's Chinatown to the retail emporium of Bergdorf Goodman, and from remote Chinese military outposts to the streets of Beijing, the tremors of China's rapid economic and cultural growth can be felt. As the characters in these stories struggle to find their way, a young girl discovers love amidst a sea of angry Red Guards, emigres navigate New York's relentless rat race, an ambitious businesswoman finds the meaning of success in her rival, and an old man returns to a Beijing he doesn't recognize on a mission to restore his son-in-law's flagging honor.
Moving smoothly across political, cultural, and personal borders and between countries, continents, and languages, these stories open a window into the rapid transformations of an ancient culture and the soul's thirst for adventure and harmony in a quickly changing world.
Wang Ping was born in Shanghai and grew up on a small island in the East China Sea. After three years spent farming in a mountain village commune, she attended Beijing University. In 1985 she left China to study in the United States, earning her PhD from New York University. She is the acclaimed author of the short story collection American Visa, the novel Foreign Devil, two poetry collections: Of Flesh & Spirit and The Magic Whip, and the cultural study Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China. She now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and teaches at Macalester College. Visit her website at www.wangping.com.

Synopsis

Wang Ping's The Last Communist Virgin is a beauty of a collection. She has interwoven the earthiness of China and the harshness of immigrant life . . . to create a series of short stories that are at once pitiful, heartbreaking, funny, and deeply inspiring. --Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

From the restaurants of New York's Chinatown to the retail emporium of Bergdorf Goodman, and from remote Chinese military outposts to the streets of Beijing, the tremors of China's rapid economic and cultural growth can be felt. As the characters in these stories struggle to find their way, a young girl discovers love amidst a sea of angry Red Guards, emigres navigate New York's relentless rat race, an ambitious businesswoman finds the meaning of success in her rival, and an old man returns to a Beijing he doesn't recognize on a mission to restore his son-in-law's flagging honor.

Moving smoothly across political, cultural, and personal borders and between countries, continents, and languages, these stories open a window into the rapid transformations of an ancient culture and the soul's thirst for adventure and harmony in a quickly changing world.

Wang Ping was born in Shanghai and grew up on a small island in the East China Sea. After three years spent farming in a mountain village commune, she attended Beijing University. In 1985 she left China to study in the United States, earning her PhD from New York University. She is the acclaimed author of the short story collection American Visa, the novel Foreign Devil, two poetry collections: Of Flesh & Spirit and The Magic Whip, and the cultural study Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China. She now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and teaches at Macalester College. Visit her website at www.wangping.com.

$17.10

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 218
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Published: Apr 2007
ISBN 10: 1566891957
ISBN 13: 9781566891950
Book Overview: 1. Galleys will be distributed through the January Consortium whitebox. 2. Additional marketing will include wholesaler and trade advertising. Our publicity efforts will include a large galley mailing to Asian American media outlets, Minnesota media, all major dailies, and women's glossies. 3. An independent publicist has been hired to coordinate an internet campaign. 4. Postcards featuring this book, Yuko Taniguchi's The Ocean in the Closet, and Sun Yung Shin's Skirt Full of Black will be sent to a large Minnesota list and to a national Asian American Studies and Literature academic list. We'll also promote these books at all major academic and library conferences. 5. The author has a web site at www.wangping.com Tour: San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN and more cities TBA.

Author Bio

Wang Ping was born in Shanghai and grew up on a small island in the East China Sea. After three years spent farming in a mountain village commune, she attended Beijing University. In 1985 she left China to study in the United States, earning her PhD from New York University. She is the acclaimed author of the short story collection American Visa, the novel Foreign Devil, two poetry collections: Of Flesh & Spirit and The Magic Whip, and the cultural study Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China.