GOLD BOY, EMERALD GIRL

Yiyun Li’s short stories are rich in the details of time, place, and character. They tell of people struggling to find a way out of their loneliness. Although their Chinese settings are central to the stories, the isolation of the characters goes beyond culture to express a universal experience. Each narrator brings his or her story’s characters to life with unemotional voices that seem appropriate for Li’s emotionally stunted characters. The weight of the unhappiness central to each tale makes this a collection one will want to experience slowly, a story at a time, with a breather between. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2011]