Modern China moves fast, leaving its people trailing behind. The mirage of a picture-perfect home compels some to gamble away the family house, while others live with debts of a shameful past. When something inevitably cracks, it’s always the women who are left to pick up the pieces.

In four stories, Yao Emei shines a brutally honest light on the crumbling foundations of the family unit with scalpel-sharp precision. As her characters struggle to escape a vicious cycle of abuse, come inside – or stare through the window – at your peril: after all, what’s a closet without its skeletons?

‘One of the best stories you’ll read all year.’ – Rónán Hession, The Irish Times

‘Alternately macabre, heart-rending and shocking… bitingly satirical’ – Asian Review of Books

‘The four short stories capture the experience of millions’ – The World of Chinese

Yao Emei (1968 - ) was born in Hubei province and currently lives in Shanghai. A prolific author, she has been praised for her surgical prose, sensitivity to character and ability to grapple with difficult topics. She has won the People's Literature Award and the Shanghai Literature Excellent Novella Award, and her works have been translated into English, Russian, German, Japanese and Korean.