An extraordinary and heartbreaking debut novel about the bonds that connect people even when separated by seas or death itself.
There are the goodbyes and then the fishing out of the bodies – everything in between is speculation.
One night, not long after the last American troops leave Vietnam, siblings Anh, Thanh and Minh flee their village and embark on a perilous boat journey to Hong Kong. Their parents and four younger siblings make the crossing in another vessel but as weeks go by it becomes clear that only one party has survived the voyage.
Anh, Thanh and Minh suddenly find themselves alone in the world, without family or home. They travel on, navigating refugee camps and resettlement centres until, by a twist of fate, they arrive in Thatcher’s Britain. Here they must somehow build new lives with only each other to turn to, but will that be enough in a place that doesn’t seem to want them?
In this piercing debut, the siblings’ faltering journey is deftly interwoven with the voice of their lost younger brother, Dao, following them from a place between the living and the dead, and the records of an unknown researcher intent on gathering the strands of their story. Revelatory and inventive, Wandering Souls paints a heart-wrenching portrait of a family in unimaginable adversity while exploring the healing power of stories.
| ISBN: | 9780008528775 |
| Publication date: | 2nd March 2023 |
| Author: | Cecile Pin |
| Publisher: | Fourth Estate Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 256 pages |
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
An extraordinary and heartbreaking debut novel about the bonds that connect people even when separated by seas or death itself.
There are the goodbyes and then the fishing out of the bodies – everything in between is speculation.
One night, not long after the last American troops leave Vietnam, siblings Anh, Thanh and Minh flee their village and embark on a perilous boat journey to Hong Kong. Their parents and four younger siblings make the crossing in another vessel but as weeks go by it becomes clear that only one party has survived the voyage.
Anh, Thanh and Minh suddenly find themselves alone in the world, without family or home. They travel on, navigating refugee camps and resettlement centres until, by a twist of fate, they arrive in Thatcher’s Britain. Here they must somehow build new lives with only each other to turn to, but will that be enough in a place that doesn’t seem to want them?
In this piercing debut, the siblings’ faltering journey is deftly interwoven with the voice of their lost younger brother, Dao, following them from a place between the living and the dead, and the records of an unknown researcher intent on gathering the strands of their story. Revelatory and inventive, Wandering Souls paints a heart-wrenching portrait of a family in unimaginable adversity while exploring the healing power of stories.
Wandering Souls features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Family Drama, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Sagas, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss, Narrative theme: Politics, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Fiction, General Fiction, Fiction: narrative themes, Debuts, Recommendations
Wandering Souls is available in Paperback, Hardback
Wandering Souls was written by Cecile Pin and published by Fourth Estate Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Wandering Souls has 256 pages
