Řeka na východ, řeka na západ – Lescure Aube Rey (2026)

This Czech-language novel follows two lives shaped by China’s changing relationship with the outside world. Shanghai, 2007: fourteen-year-old Alva is the daughter of an American immigrant and a Chinese father she has never known. She longs for more and believes the United States offers her a better life, but her hopes are crushed when her mother announces her engagement to their wealthy Chinese housekeeper. Alva therefore turns to the second priority on her list: attending an American school in Shanghai. Once accepted, she discovers a world controlled by an exclusive community of Western expatriates, as well as increasingly wild excitements in a city where foreigners seem able to do whatever they please. Qingdao, 1985: Lu Fang is a young, low-ranking official at the local port. He once dreamed of a brilliant future, but, like many others, he falls victim to harsh political reforms. When China opens its doors to the first wave of foreigners in decades, Lu Fang’s world is shaken to its foundations. An encounter with an American woman forces him to ask uncomfortable questions about his position in life and how much he must do before it is finally enough.