We're so excited to welcome Aube Rey Lescure to Edinburgh on Sunday 16th June to discuss her Women's Prize shortlisted novel River East, River West. 

This compelling coming-of-age story is one of our favourite books of 2024 and a Rare Birds Book Club pick in May; we can't wait to sit down and discuss the novel and the amazing journey she's been on since publication. 

Tickets are £5 and can be redeemed against any purchase on the evening of the event.

About the book 

A mesmerising reversal of the east–west immigrant narrative set against China’s economic boom, River East, River West is a deeply moving exploration of race, identity and family, of capitalism’s false promise and private dreams.

Shanghai, 2007: feeling betrayed by her American mother’s engagement to their rich landlord Lu Fang, fourteen-year-old Alva begins plotting her escape. But the exclusive American School – a potential ticket out – is not what she imagined. 

Qingdao, 1985: newlywed Lu Fang works as a lowly shipping clerk. Though he aspires to a bright future, he is one of many casualties of harsh political reforms. Then China opens up to foreigners and capital, and Lu Fang meets a woman who makes him question what he should settle for...

About the Author

Aube Rey Lescure is a French-Chinese-American writer who grew up between Shanghai, northern China and the south of France. After receiving her BA from Yale University, she worked in foreign policy and has coauthored and translated two books on Chinese politics and economics. She was an Ivan Gold Fellow, a Pauline Scheer Fellow, and an artist-in-residence at the Studios of Key West and Willapa Bay AiR. Her fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in Guernica, The Best American Essays 2022, The Florida Review online, and more. She is the deputy editor of Off Assignment.

If you have any questions regarding the event or to request additional accessibility accommodations please contact hello@rarebirdsbooks.com