# Straw Dogs of the Universe - Hardcover

by **Ye Chun** (Author)

**Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence**

A harrowing and redemptive immigrant story for readers of _Pachinko_

A Chinese railroad worker and his young daughter--sold into servitude--in 19th century California search for family, fulfillment, and belonging in a violent new land

_"Heaven and earth do not pick and choose._  
_They see everything as straw dogs."_

A sweeping historical novel of the American West from the little-seen perspective of those who helped to build it, _Straw Dogs of the Universe_ traces the story of one Chinese father and his young daughter, desperate to find him against all odds.

After her village is devastated by famine, 10-year-old Sixiang is sold to a human trafficker for a bag of rice and six silver coins. Her mother is reluctant to let her go, but the promise of a better life for her beloved daughter ultimately sways her. Arriving in America with the profits from her sale and a single photograph of Guifeng, her absent father, Sixiang journeys across an unfamiliar American landscape in the hopes of reuniting her family.

As she makes her way through an unforgiving new world, her father, a railroad worker in California, finds his attempts to build a life for himself both upended and defined by along-lost love and the seemingly inescapable violence of the American West. A generational saga ranging from the villages of China to the establishment of the transcontinental railroad and the anti-Chinese movement in California, _Straw Dogs of the Universe_ considers the tenacity of family ties and the courage it takes to survive in a country that rejects you, even as it relies upon your labor.

### Author Biography

**YE CHUN** is a bilingual Chinese American writer and literary translator. Her debut story collection, _Hao_, was longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. She is also the author of 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.

**Number of Pages:** 336

**Dimensions:** 1.18 x 8.35 x 5.59 IN

**Publication Date:** October 17, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 27.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 27.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Straw Dogs of the Universe - Hardcover

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