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The Invisibility Cloak
- Author
- Ge Fei
- Narrator
- Brian Nishii
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 30 August 2022
- Run Time
- 3 hours 44 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
A lightly surreal story of misfortune, menace, and high-end stereo equipment in the cutthroat, capitalistic world of modern China
The hero of The Invisibility Cloak lives in contemporary Beijing—where everyone is doing their best to hustle up the ladder of success while shouldering an ever-growing burden of consumer goods—and he’s a loser. Well into his forties, he’s divorced (and still doting on his ex), childless, and living with his sister (her husband wants him out) in an apartment at the edge of town with a crack in the wall. He gets by, just, by making customized old-fashioned amplifiers for the occasional rich audio-obsessive. He has contempt for his clients and contempt for himself. The only things he really likes are Beethoven and vintage speakers. Then an old friend tips him off about a special job—a little risky, but just don’t ask too many questions. Can this hopeless loser really win?
This provocative and seriously funny exercise in the social fantastic by the brilliantly original Ge Fei, one of China’s finest living writers, is among the most original works of fiction to come out of China in recent years. It is sure to appeal to fans of Haruki Murakami and other fabulists of contemporary irreality.
Critics Review
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“The author packs in wit, social commentary, and an emotional depth that will lift the reader’s spirits like few recent English-language books.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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“Shot through with an eerie melody.”
Publishers Weekly
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Ge Fei
- Narrator
- Brian Nishii
- Duration
- 3 hours 44 minutes
- Release Date
- 30 August 2022
- ISBN
- 9798200947812
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Narrative theme: Interior life, Fiction: general and literary, Crime and mystery fiction
Synopsis
A lightly surreal story of misfortune, menace, and high-end stereo equipment in the cutthroat, capitalistic world of modern ChinaThe hero of The Invisibility Cloak lives in contemporary Beijing—where everyone is doing their best to hustle up the ladder of success while shouldering an ever-growing burden of consumer goods—and he’s a loser. Well into his forties, he’s divorced (and still doting on his ex), childless, and living with his sister (her husband wants him out) in an apartment at the edge of town with a crack in the wall. He gets by, just, by making customized old-fashioned amplifiers for the occasional rich audio-obsessive. He has contempt for his clients and contempt for himself. The only things he really likes are Beethoven and vintage speakers. Then an old friend tips him off about a special job—a little risky, but just don’t ask too many questions. Can this hopeless loser really win?This provocative and seriously funny exercise in the social fantastic by the brilliantly original Ge Fei, one of China’s finest living writers, is among the most original works of fiction to come out of China in recent years. It is sure to appeal to fans of Haruki Murakami and other fabulists of contemporary irreality.
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