Loss of card

An epic debut novel set against the backdrop of a changing China after the Cultural Revolution. The novel is about dreams and lives left behind. Ityan has been living in America for almost ten years when his mother informs him over the phone that his father has left their village home and not returned. Despite not having seen his father all these years and parting ways without forgiving each other for what happened many years ago, Ityan decides to return to China. Finding himself in his native but now unfamiliar lands, Ityan tries to reconstruct past events while also navigating the inscrutable bureaucracy of China for an outsider. The evasiveness of his mother only complicates the situation with the search. The only way out is to seek help from the only person who once understood him. Hanwen is a city girl, born and raised in Shanghai, dreaming of attending college and studying to become an engineer. However, like all graduates of urban schools, she is "assigned" to a village, where former students must help with China's agriculture. There she meets Ityan, so different from the other village boys, secretly reading books and dreaming of an education that is out of reach for him. Years later, Ityan teaches at an American university, and Hanwen is a socialite, the wife of a high-ranking Chinese official. Meeting again after many years, they set out to search for the missing old man, delving into the past - their own and that of the country. "The Map of Loss" is a subtle novel about family, forgiveness, and what a true home is.