From the opening pages you know that this is going to be a magical
book. Beautifully written and intricately blending the story of a
marriage with Chinese history and folklore makes this a debut not to be
missed. Meekings is a published poet and this comes through in his
lyrical prose. This is a really lovely book and fascinating for those
with an interest in the East.
Under Fishbone Clouds is a love story, a family saga and a compendium of Chinese history, folklore, myth and culture.
The Kitchen God, a Chinese deity, has been challenged by the Jade Emperor to fathom the workings of the human heart. In the course of his quest, he follows the life of Jinyi and his wife Yuying, from their youth until their old age. This tale is interwoven with Chinese traditional folktales and stories from ancient Chinese history, while the omnipresent backdrop to Yuying and Jinyi’s lives is the sequence of dramatic events of recent Chinese political history, which determines the course of their lives.
Sam Meekings grew up near the south coast of England. He took an undergraduate degree in Modern History and English Literature at Mansfield College, Oxford University, and, later, a Masters degree in Creative Writing at Edinburgh University. Since 2005 he has lived and travelled throughout China, working as a teacher and editor. In 2006 and 2007 he was longlisted for the Eric Gregory Award for poets under 30.
