I was anxious to read this newest novel by Sendker as I enjoyed one of his previous books. He is a German novelist translated to English writing about China. This creates some funny sentences grammatically but overall it is a good translation however I always wonder what was lost in the translation. The novel starts off with the main character going living through a horrible life event. He remains the narrator for the first 25 of the novel before the writer switches to other characters in the book narrating. The author does a wonderful job describing the sights, smells and sounds of Hong Kong and mainland China while describing some of the subtleties of Chinese culture. The book is a mystery so slowly the book yields all of the answers while keeping you in suspense through most of the book. It is a good read and a trip to China all wrapped up in one novel.