As spring dawns in the Chinese provincial city of Muddy River in 1979, festivities are under way to celebrate the execution of Gu Shan, a 28-year-old counterrevolutionary. The Vagrants initially focuses in tightly on her parents -- Teacher Gu, an intellectual who cannot bear what his daughter has become and Mrs. Gu, who is devastated at the loss of their only child. We learn that Gu Shan has been imprisoned for the past 10 years, and has slowly lost her mind. As the story progresses, the other inhabitants of rural Muddy River emerge: 12-year-old Nini who cares for her younger siblings leaving each morning to steal coal to heat her family's home; teenage Bashi, a rascal of a young man; and Kai, the beautiful newscaster who's married to the son of an important family.

Gritty, compelling and illuminating, Yiyun Li's novel is beautifully written and sheds light on the Democratic Wall Movement, the predecessor to the Tiananmen Square protest. At the same time, The Vagrants tells the deeply personal story of an idealistic young Red Guard militant whose political actions become the centerpiece of her village and its residents.
~Wendee