Yiyun Li

A tale of the far-reaching consequences of a political prisoner’s execution in the provincial city of Muddy River in China.

A young woman wakes in Muddy River as a political prisoner. A former member of the Red Guard, Gu Shan has been sentenced to death for speaking against the Chinese Communist Party and turning away from Mao. As her parents begin to grieve in anticipation, they have no sense of how their provincial city will be totally reshaped by their daughter’s death.

The stunning debut novel from the Pulitzer finalist Yiyun Li, The Vagrants follows an unforgettable group of characters throughout Muddy River as they navigate a moment of profound upheaval. The execution and its fallout bring every sector of society into contact with each other—and every tension between lovers, families, bureaucrats, peasants, and politicians to a breaking point. With care, restraint, and deeply felt emotion, Li attends to the brutality and care that structure life and survival under authoritarian rule.