{"product_id":"9781566891950","title":"The Last Communist Virgin","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Wang Ping’s \u003ci\u003eThe Last Communist Virgin\u003c\/i\u003e is a beauty of a collection. She has interwoven the earthiness of China and the harshness of immigrant life . . . to create a series of short stories that are at once pitiful, heartbreaking, funny, and deeply inspiring.”—Lisa See, author of \u003ci\u003eSnow Flower and the Secret Fan\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the restaurants of New York’s Chinatown to the retail emporium of Bergdorf Goodman, and from remote Chinese military outposts to the streets of Beijing, the tremors of China’s rapid economic and cultural growth can be felt. As the characters in these stories struggle to find their way, a young girl discovers love amidst a sea of angry Red Guards, émigrés navigate New York’s relentless rat race, an ambitious businesswoman finds the meaning of success in her rival, and an old man returns to a Beijing he doesn’t recognize on a mission to restore his son-in-law’s flagging honor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoving smoothly across political, cultural, and personal borders and between countries, continents, and languages, these stories open a window into the rapid transformations of an ancient culture and the soul’s thirst for adventure and harmony in a quickly changing world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eWang Ping\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Shanghai and grew up on a small island in the East China Sea. After three years spent farming in a mountain village commune, she attended Beijing University. In 1985 she left China to study in the United States, earning her PhD from New York University. She is the acclaimed author of the short story collection \u003ci\u003eAmerican Visa,\u003c\/i\u003e the novel \u003ci\u003eForeign Devil,\u003c\/i\u003e two poetry collections: \u003ci\u003eOf Flesh \u0026amp; Spirit\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Magic Whip,\u003c\/i\u003e and the cultural study \u003ci\u003eAching for Beauty: Footbinding in China.\u003c\/i\u003e She now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and teaches at Macalester College. Visit her website at www.wangping.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Coffee House Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47060085047536,"sku":"9781566891950","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781566891950_p0.jpg?v=1763791328","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781566891950","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}