The Boat to Redemption
The Boat to Redemption by Tong Su, published by Black Swan in 2010, is a work of fiction that spans 475 pages. The narrative follows disgraced Secretary Ku, who has been expelled from the Party after it is revealed that he is not the son of a revolutionary martyr. Instead, he is the child of a river pirate and a prostitute. As he seeks a new life among the boat people on industrial barges, he grapples with his high status and the disdain of the citizens of Milltown, while navigating his relationship with his teenage son, Dongliang.
Readers will encounter a story rich in conflict and emotional complexity as Huixian, a feral girl searching for her mother, enters their lives. Her arrival disrupts the fragile dynamics within the boat community, particularly affecting Dongliang, who becomes obsessed with her. The book explores themes of identity, societal rejection, and the struggles between personal desires and communal expectations. This edition offers a detailed portrayal of the characters’ interactions and the challenges they face in their quest for belonging and redemption.
Official synopsis Publisher
“Disgraced Secretary Ku has been banished from the Party – it has been officially proved he does not have a fish-shaped birthmark on his bottom and is therefore not the son of a revolutionary martyr, but the issue of a river pirate and a prostitute. Mocked by the citizens of Milltown, Secretary Ku leaves the shore for a new life among the boat people on a fleet of industrial barges. Refusing to renounce his high status, he maintains a distance with Dongliang, his teenage son from the gossipy lowlifes who surround him. One day a feral little girl, Huixian, arrives looking for her mother, who has jumped to her death in the river. The boat people, and especially Dongliang, take her to their hearts. But Huixan sows conflict wherever she goes, and soon Dongliang is in the grip of an obsession for her. He takes on Life, Fate and the Party in the only way he knows . . .”
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