Description
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize 2017.
A brilliantly distinctive debut set in China in the Second World War, IN A LAND OF PAPER GODS by Rebecca Mackenzie will appeal to readers who loved Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit or The Light Between Oceans.
Jiangxi Province, China, 1941. Atop the fabled mountain of Lushan perches a boarding school for the children of British missionaries. While her parents pursue their calling, ten-year-old Henrietta S. Robertson discovers that she, too, has been singled out by the Lord.
As Japanese invaders draw closer, Etta and her dorm mates retreat into a world where boundaries between make believe and reality become dangerously blurred. So begins a remarkable journey, through a mystical landscape and to the heart of a war.
Trade ReviewSet in a missionary school in China... carries echoes of
Empire of the Sun and
The Poisonwood Bible * Observer (2016 Highlights) *
Infused with a delicate, melancholy note of nostalgia, Mackenzie's depiction of a bygone world is vividly realised * Independent *
Such a wonderful voice, very funny and hugely moving -- Anna James @ The Bookseller
An evocative and involving novel with a wonderful setting * Woman & Home *
A richly imagined novel that cleverly intertwines two cultures * Daily Mail *
Mackenzie is a self-assured, poetic storyteller... This is a wonderful, special book. I inhaled it * Red *
If you like your novels lyrical but pacy, look out for this beautiful debut * Elle *
An imaginative and touching debut * Good Housekeeping *
A soaring work of the imagination... a beautifully written book, powerfully moving but surprisingly funny, too * Herald *
Rebecca Mackenzie's vigorous prose is original and highly evocative. The untameable beauty of China's Lushan mountain and the dangers that lie beyond are echoed in the dramatic landscapes that Etta must navigate within herself. Her fate will linger in your thoughts long after the story ends -- Claire King, author of THE NIGHT RAINBOW
Really enjoyed IN A LAND OF PAPER GODS - a dreamlike tale, like a cross between
Picnic at Hanging Rock and
Empire of the Sun... lovely prose and a great setting -- Stav Sherez
A beautifully poignant book... a story full of adolescent verve, young girls coming of age as the world around them falls apart, that remains somehow delightful, both playful and tender, as it breaks your heart. I loved it. -- Lindsay Hawdon, author of JAKOB'S COLOURS
Henrietta S. Robertson is a beguiling, wilful and wonderfully realised creation, whose humour, imagination and yearning will captivate readers... this is a wonderful debut -- Jackie Copleton, author of A DICTIONARY OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
This coming of age tale with a loveable protagonist, set in a fascinating time and a beautiful location is a breath-taking debut and one that will definitely capture many hearts, as it did my own * The Tattoed Book *
Its pleasures come in discovering Etta's character, seeing her grow, and the atmosphere of melancholy and loss that infuses the book * Emerald Street *
[A] beautifully imagined novel, at times whimsical and at others harrowing * Sunday Express S Magazine *
An intriguing, well told story, beautifully descriptive of the China of that period * Choice *
A beautifully conjured debut * Sainsbury’s Magazine *
A beautifully written coming of age story * Red - Books of 2016 *
