Author Description

Teenager Da Chen gathers soil from the riverback near his village before he leaves to attend the University of Beijing. Those grains bear witness to his past and contain the now-silent sounds of the river. Later spilled onto the dry soil of the North, they will merge two part's of Da's life in the second volume of his lyrical trilogy of memoirs. Facing wretched living conditions, a suicidal roomate, and corrupt professors at the University, Da remains determined to learn "all things Western." His dream is to go to America, and in a richly textured tale—by turns poetic, ribald,hilarious,and heartbreaking—Da keeps his indomitable spirit, but will his goal be any closer? Joining Memoirs of a Geisha, A Gesture Life, and Waiting in a growing library of Asian-American literature, Sounds of the River chronicles a remarkable journey...a travelogue of the heart. About the Author: Da Chen is also the author of China's Son. An accomplished flutist and brush calligrapher, he lives with his wife and two children in New York's Hudson Valley.