Rich with Chinese mythology and cultural lore, this remarkable novel is about gender, love, honour, intrigue, and fighting against the dark forces of biotechnology.

Could Miranda be infected by the Dreaming Disease that makes the past leak into the present?įramed by a playful sense of magic realism, Larissa Lai’s Salt Fish Girl reveals a future where corporations govern cities, factory workers are cybernetically engineered, middle-class labour is a video game, and the power of capital surges in our very veins. Miranda is haunted by traces of her mother’s glamorous cabaret career, the strange smell of durian fruit that lingers about her, and odd tokens reminiscent of Nu Wa. Told in the beguiling voice of a narrator who is fish, snake, girl, and woman- all of whom must struggle against adversity for survival- the novel is set alternately in nineteenth-century China and in a futuristic Pacific Northwest.Īt turns whimsical and wry, Salt Fish Girl intertwines the story of Nu Wa, the shape-shifter from Old China, and that of Miranda, a troubled young girl lving in the walled city of Serendipity circa 2044. Salt Fish Girl is the mesmerizing tale of an ageless female character who changes shape and form through time and place.

'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic Larissa Lai (born 1967) is an American-born Canadian novelist and literary critic. Rich with ancient Chinese mythology and cultural lore, this remarkable novel is about gender, love, honour, intrigue, and fighting against oppression. Could Miranda be infected by the Dreaming Disease that makes the past leak into the present?įramed by a playful sense of magical realism, Salt Fish Girl reveals a futuristic Pacific Northwest where corporations govern cities, factory workers are cybernetically engineered, middle-class labour is a video game, and those who haven’t sold out to commerce and other ills must fight the evil powers intent on controlling everything. Salt Fish Girl is the mesmerizing tale of an ageless female character who changes shape and form through time and place. Miranda is haunted by traces of her mother’s glamourous cabaret career, the strange smell of durian fruit that lingers about her, and odd tokens reminiscient of Nu Wa. Told in the beguiling voice of a narrator who is fish, snake, girl and woman.

Told in the beguiling voice of a narrator who is fish, snake, girl, and woman - all of whom must struggle against adversity for survival - the novel is set alternately in nineteenth-century China and in a futuristic Pacific Northwest.Īt turns whimsical and wry, Salt Fish Girl intertwines the story of Nu Wa, the shape-shifter, and that of Miranda, a troubled young girl living in the walled city of Serendipity circa 2044. Salt Fish Girl is the mesmerizing tale of an ageless female character who shifts shape and form through time and place. Salt Fish Girl is the mesmerizing tale of an ageless female character who shifts shape and form through time and place.

Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai