"Birth and death are the games of our human world, our ambition the course between them, and the end: our destiny."

As a bilingual author who writes in Chinese and Uyghur, Alat Asem weaves stories that stand out among those of his contemporaries for their uniquely vibrant and unmistakably modern feel.

Pearls and Agates and Malaki Milk Tea, the two novellas in this book, share a narrative structure of "indulgence–quest–counsel–rebirth–regression." The former story reminds us that "gold is no measure of righteousness; the heart alone and always is earth's scale." When their newly married father dies unexpectedly, the orphaned brothers waver between wealth and virtue, as they struggle to find a spiritual outlet. The latter starts from the idea, "A man is his own worst enemy when he is out of sight." Not long after the death of the mayor, a widely loved and supported figure, his family receive a bank card and land deeds from a woman they don't know. From then on, the mystery only deepens and proliferates, as Malaki's glittering life returns to the surface for all to see.

About the author

Alat Asem is Uyghur. Born in 1958, he is a member of the China Writers Association and former recipient of the Golden Phoenix Award in Xinjiang. He has won many literary prizes, including the Junma Literary Award for Ethnic Minority Writers. His prose essays are used as teaching materials in the high school curriculum. His main works include Confessions of a Jade Lord, Time's Children, and Time's Rose.