Gold Boy, Emerald Girl

Yiyun Li

HarperCollins UK

256 pages, R350

The residents of a shabby apartment building are awestruck by the real estate boom; a local entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist shelters women in trouble; a group of retired women discover fame as private investigators specialising in extramarital affairs. Underneath the veneer of prosperity and opportunity, this collection of stories reveals the struggles of characters trying to reorient themselves in the unfamiliar landscape of 21st century China.