The Man with the Compound Eyes (MING-YI, Wu)

"Frankly astonishing... A wonderful novel which deserves a very wide audience." - Independent

On the island of Wayo Wayo, every second son must leave on the day he turns fifteen as a sacrifice to the Sea God. Atile'i however is determined to defy destiny and become the first to survive.

Across the sea, mourning the loss of her husband and son, Alice Shih's life is changed forever when a vast trash vortex comes crashing onto the shore of Taiwan, bringing Atile'i with it.

In the aftermath of the catastrophe, Atile'i and Alice retrace her late husband's footsteps into the mountains, hoping to solve the mystery of her son's disappearance. On their journey, memories will be challenged, an unusual bond formed, and a dark secret uncovered that will force Alice to question everything she thought she knew.

"The depiction of Atile'i's magical realm and his innocent wonder at this unfamiliar and murky world is imaginative and moving." - Financial Times

"Wu shuttles between his two realms with a dizzying ease reminiscent of Haruki Murakami, twisting the dreamlike into the curiously credible." - Times Literary Supplement

Darryl Sterk has translated numerous short stories from Taiwan for The Chinese Pen Quarterly, and now teaches translation in the Graduate Program in Translation and Interpretation at National Taiwan University.