GHOST CITIES

What a pleasure to follow Siang Lu into his labyrinthine Ghost Cities! An instant Australian classic that stands both on the shoulders of giants and yet is somehow completely and delightfully new. Lashings of myth, absurdity, humour and pathos come together in this paean to art in all its forms. I want to crumple this novel into a ball and swallow it, whole.

Audacious, stimulating and 'utterly bonkers': Siang Lu, the thrilling new face of Australian literature The award-winning author of The Whitewash takes his readers on wild rides where facts and fiction are often indistinguishable. He's back with a new novel, containing secrets only he knows Read more...

From the multi-award-winning author of The Whitewash comes another sharp, dazzling satire, this time inspired by the vacant, uninhabited megacities of China and riffing on the corrupting nature of power. For fans of Haruki Murakami and Italo Calvino.

Ghost Cities, inspired by the desolate and deserted megacities of China, weaves together multiple narratives. Among them is the story of Xiang, a young man abruptly dismissed from his role as a translator at Sydney's Chinese Consulate. His shocking secret is revealed: he doesn't possess any knowledge of the Chinese language and has solely relied on Google Translate for his work. As the tale unfolds, we gradually uncover how his relocation to one of these ghostly cities is intricately linked to parallel journeys. If you enjoy the works of Haruki Murakami and Italo Calvino, then Ghost Cities is a must-read! Read more...

Siang Lu's sharp wit is writ large across the worlds of this book, where myths and ideas become truth simply by virtue of being acted upon... For all the verve of Lu's satire, the glimpses of what lies beneath farce were what made this novel truly memorable. As his characters feel their way carefully in the dark, seeking the truths of themselves, Lu reveals a precious layer of vulnerability and care. This is a work of duality; of the simultaneous existence of contradictory realities whose conflicts spark greater truths than a consistent system could ever conjure... Lu has created a work of such densely layered references and meanings that, in the hands of another, might have slowed the reader's journey and lessened their enjoyment. However, his words and stories tumble forth with such force of life that I couldn't help but be swept up in tides of joy, sorrow, anger and love. Lu has created a surprising work of overwhelming meaning and feeling, which has left me with much to reflect on and retrospectively parse much like the experience of life itself.

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The mythology of ancient China, a fascinating world [is] rendered here with masterly skill... This is not your conventional plot, but rather, an ingenious adaptation of Chinese history to reveal the absurdities, contradictions and political follies of modern life. Siang Lu has depicted the parallel worlds of past and present as intricately and expertly as a work of Chinese calligraphy, an art form where, each stroke of the brush [is] an interpretation that takes on greater meaning over time.

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Ghost Cities is a labyrinth of a novel that delights, terrifies, thrills and amuses in the very best of ways. An inventive and philosophical exploration of power, automation, art and love where nothing is as it seems; a decadent feast fashioned from tofu, a lush orchard carved from stone. Siang Lu's brain at play is a thing of wonder.

Siang Lu draws on Chinese myth, history and the uninhabited megacities of China to produce a humorous and satirical commentary on geopolitics, contemporary life, art and work. Ghost Cities once again showcases Lu's talent for imagination, comedy and cultural criticism. Strange and inventive, Ghost Cities is an ambitious novel of epic proportions and firmly places Lu as one of Australia's most exciting new writers. Fan of The Whitewash will delight in this new novel, as will readers of Haruki Murakami, Italo Calvino and Yan Ge.