Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside - Softcover

Carroll, Quincy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941758452 ISBN 13: 9781941758458

Publisher: Inkshares, 2015

Synopsis

Finalist in Literary Fiction for Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards
Silver Medalist in Contemporary Fiction for the Independent Publisher Book Awards
Kirkus Reviews' January 2016 Indie Book of the Month

Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside tells the story of two Americans living and teaching in rural China. The first, Thomas, is an entitled deadbeat, content to pass the rest of his days in Asia skating by on the fact that he's white, while the second, a recent college graduate named Daniel, is an idealist at heart. Over the course of the novel, these two characters fight to establish primacy in Ningyuan, a remote town in the south of Hunan, with one of their more overzealous students, Bella, caught in between. Quincy Carroll's cleverly written debut novel examines what we bring from one country to another.

About this title

About the Author

Quincy Carroll is the author of Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside. He is currently working on his second book.

Review

"Probably as close to [the China equivalent to The Sun Also Rises] as we're likely to get, or want... Evoke[s] a fictionalized version of Peter Hessler's River Town." ―Robert Foyle Hunwick, Los Angeles Review of Books

"Gracefully contrasts idealism and cynicism... The novel has a clear mission it fulfills admirably while recalling W.G. Sebald and Ben Lerner... [An] insightful reflection on the expatriate experience." ―Kirkus Reviews

"Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside is a poignant, elegant debut that superbly explores cynicism and idealism but doesn't fall into either."―Asian Review of Books

"[Carroll] paints an intriguing portrait of Americans abroad." ―San Jose Mercury News

"Carroll's book is a delightfully poignant read about individuals adapting (or not adapting) to their surroundings, sprinkled with Chinese customs and traditions throughout." ―Global Living Magazine

"The Catcher in the Rye for international educators.... A must-read if you are considering working abroad―especially as a teacher, and especially in China." ―James Rector, Teach Abroad Network

"A driving, heartfelt story, told with insight and elegance. Carroll is a writer to watch." ―Kim McLarin, author of Meeting of the Waters

"The two narrators [of Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside] are less dueling archetypes of foreignness in contemporary China than they are representative of the fractured psyches of almost all of us who make China our home for any extended period of time." ―Jeremiah Jenne, Here! Dongguan

"We've been waiting a long time for the novel that captures the foreign-teacher-in-China experience, and Quincy Carroll has written it... I recommend it to both new arrivals in China and jaded cynics." ―Alec Ash, author of Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China

"A riveting story of cultures and generations colliding on a backwater Chinese campus, evoking the stillness and suspense of Paul Bowles and Graham Greene. Here is a welcome, novel take on China, and the Peace Corps." ―Michael Meyer, author of In Manchuria and The Last Days of Old Beijing

About this edition

• Publisher: Inkshares
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1941758452
• ISBN 13: 9781941758458
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224