A Taiwanese Life of Pi.      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 is one such boy, but as the strongest swimmer and best sailor, he is determined to defy destiny and become the first to survive.      Alice Shih, who has lost her husband and son in a climbing accident, is quietly preparing to commit suicide in her house by the sea. But her plan is interrupted 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 Man with the Compound Eyes

Literature & Fiction

Ming-Yi, Wu

Contemporary

Vintage Books

When a tsunami sends a massive island made entirely of trash crashing into the Taiwanese coast, two very different people—an outcast from a mythical island and a woman on the verge of suicide—are united in ways they never could have imagined. Here is the English-language debut of a new and exciting award-winning voice from Taiwan, who has written an “astonishing” novel (The Independent) that is at once fantasy, reality, and dystopian environmental saga. Fifteen-year-old Atile’i—a native of Wayo Wayo, an island somewhere in the Pacific—has come of age. Following the custom of his people, he is set adrift as a sacrifice to the Sea God but, unlike those who have gone before him, Atile’i is determined to defy precedent and survive. His chances seem slim, but just as it appears that hope is lost, Atile’i comes across a sprawling trash vortex floating in the ocean and climbs onto it. Meanwhile, on the east coast of Taiwan, Alice, a college professor, is overcome with grief. Her husband and son are missing, having disappeared while hiking in the mountains near their home. Alice is so distraught that she decides to end her own life. But her plans are interrupted by a violent storm that causes the trash vortex to collide with the Taiwanese coast, bringing Atile’i along with it. Alice and Atile’i subsequently form an unlikely friendship that helps each of them come to terms with what they have lost. Together they set out to uncover the mystery of Alice’s lost family, following their footsteps into the mountains. Intertwined with Alice and Atile’i’s story are the lives of others affected by the tsunami, from environmentalists to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples—and, of course, the mysterious man with the compound eyes. A work of lyrical beauty that combines magical realism and environmental fable, The Man with the Compound Eyes is an incredible story about the bonds of family, the meaning of love, and the lasting effects of human destruction.

The Man with the Compound Eyes: A Novel

Literary

Pantheon

When a tsunami sends a massive island made of trash crashing into the coast of Taiwan, two very different people—an outcast from a mythical country and a woman on the verge of suicide—are united in ways they never could have imagined. Intertwined with the story of their burgeoning friendship are the lives of others affected by the tsunami, from environmentalists to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples—and, of course, the mysterious man with the compound eyes. A work of lyrical beauty that combines fantasy, reality, and dystopian environmental saga, here is the English-language debut of a new and exciting award-winning voice from Taiwan.

Vintage

A masterpiece of environmental literature it is the story of an apocalyptic aboriginal encounter with modernity. With limited natural resources, the Woenesian islanders customarily require second sons to row away from the island on a voyage of no return when they come of age. One such son, Atre, leaves Woenesia only to land on another island that has formed out of a trash vortex in the middle of the Pacific. When the trash island smashes into Taiwan's east coast, the Taiwanese people are too interested in developing the east coast to clean it up and Atre is left to fend for himself.      An excitingly original novel set on the coast of Taiwan that involves islands and tsunamis, the sea and mountains, a lost boy and a grieving woman searching for love and completion. The novel blends harsh fact with beautiful fantasy, mythical beings with wonderfully recognisable characters to explore our increasing disconnect from the natural world.

The Man with Compound Eyes

HARVILL/SECKER

A masterpiece of environmental literature it is the story of an apocalyptic aboriginal encounter with modernity. With limited natural resources, the Woenesian islanders customarily require second sons to row away from the island on a voyage of no return when they come of age. One such son, Atre, leaves Woenesia only to land on another island that has formed out of a trash vortex in the middle of the Pacific. When the trash island smashes into Taiwan's east coast, the Taiwanese people are too interested in developing the east coast to clean it up and Atre is left to fend for himself. An excitingly original novel set on the coast of Taiwan that involves islands and tsunamis, the sea and mountains, a lost boy and a grieving woman searching for love and completion. The novel blends harsh fact with beautiful fantasy, mythical beings with wonderfully recognisable characters to explore our increasing disconnect from the natural world.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ming-Yi, Wu. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ming-Yi, Wu

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ming-Yi, Wu. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Man with the Compound Eyes

The Man with the Compound Eyes: A Novel

The Man with the Compound Eyes: A Novel

The Man with Compound Eyes

The Man with Compound Eyes