Calls Across the Pacific

Fleeing the Cultural Revolution, a young Nina Huang says goodbye to her family and friends, and steals across the bay to Hong Kong, afterward immigrating to the U.S. and later to Canada. Twice she returns to China to reunite with her mother as well as friends, and to see how Chinese society and politics are evolving. However, as an escaped citizen who has returned with an American passport, Nina puts herself in dangerous situations and finds herself needing to flee from the red terror once again.“Zoe S. Roy’s novel, Calls Across the Pacific, is a fascinating journey of a young woman, Nina Huang, whose adventure begins during the Cultural Revolution in China, follows her immigration to the United States, and eventually leads her to a new life in Canada. The story entwines the intimacy of a memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history, enmeshing us in the challenges of breaking away not only from the violent persecution of communism, but also from the oppressive moral norms of a tradition bound China. This courageous tale of perseverance in the face of adversity is a timeless rendering of the never ending quest for transformation and beauty.” —Bianca Lakoseljac, author of Summer of the Dancing Bear“With Calls Across the Pacific, Zoë Roy continues to plumb her firsthand knowledge of everyday life in Maoist China. Her experience of this endlessly fascinating era, combined with a talent for detailed, humorous and sometimes heartbreaking storytelling, makes for a fine novel which delights and informs in equal measure. Roy captures the culture shock that assaults her protagonist Nina Huang, and shows how her birth culture never quite lets go, despite ownership of the iconic American passport.”—Amanda Hale, author of Sounding the Blood, The Reddening Path, My Sweet Curiosity, and In the Embrace of the Alligator