Zhu Mao

At Splendid Guest House in Wudangshan, China, a New Zealander books a room. The manager can’t recall him. ‘But I remember you, Mr Lau …’

Scott Warren, an architect, has not long lost his wife, May, when he journeys to her homeland to lay her to rest. It’s more than twenty years since his last visit, as a young man with a flair for design and an eagerness to learn tai chi. China has changed, but has he?

This vivid, dramatic novel evokes a complex China and brings us, in Scott, a memorable character who learns to see beyond the reassuring sturdiness of buildings to the intricate architecture of the heart.