STRAW DOGS OF THE UNIVERSE

**Sold in a two-book deal, for a collection and a novel**

STRAW DOGS OF THE UNIVERSE follows the story of a Chinese father and daughter in late 19th Century America West: the daughter as she searches for her father, the father as he seeks a new life in a difficult land. Following a devastating famine in her village, ten-year-old Sixiang's mother reluctantly sells her to a human trafficker, who promises to bring Sixiang to a better life in America. Her mother gives Sixiang the profits of the sale as well as a photo of her absent father, Guifeng, who had travelled to Gold Mountain years ago before cutting off communication with his family at home. STRAW DOGS OF THE UNIVERSE follows Sixiang's brave journey through the unforgiving landscape of the American West—a place particularly hostile to Chinese immigrants—in hopes of finding her father and reuniting her family. The novel simultaneously traces the story of Guifeng who, little known to Sixiang, has found his attempts to build a new place for himself destabilized by both a long-lost passion from home and the seemingly inescapable violence of this new land.

A deeply felt generational story of little-known immigrant history in the vein of PACHINKO or HOW MUCH OF THESE HILLS IS GOLD, STRAW DOGS OF THE UNIVERSE considers what makes or breaks the ties of family, and shows the strength and courage it takes to survive in a new world.

YE CHUN is a bilingual Chinese American writer and literary translator. She has published two books of poetry, Travel Over Water and Lantern Puzzle; a novel in Chinese,«?????»(Peach Tree in the Sea); and four volumes of translations. A recipient of an NEA Literature Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and three Pushcart Prizes, she teaches at Providence College and lives in Providence, Rhode Island.