Dear __,
I am seeking representation for my 108,000-word historical novel, One Thousand Roads. Think Amy Tan from a male perspective or Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.
Quiet, shy, life mapped out because he is the only son and the guardian of the family name—this is Chang’s burden. But he doesn’t realize it until his father thrusts him into a truck and sends him away when hints of war reach his dusty enclave in the loess mountains of northern China.
Everywhere Chang goes the war seems to follow, so when Madame Chiang Kai-shek promises to “save the children,” Chang embarks on a trek with three-hundred children to unoccupied territory. He quickly finds the Children’s March to be ill-planned, lacking even basic needs. He and the others travel hundreds of miles, mostly by foot, beset by neglect, physical hardships, and danger. Brought up under Confucian ethics, Chang’s worldview is challenged as he struggles to survive and comes of age in a fast-changing country at war.
Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s call to save the children drew thousands from different parts of China. The Children’s March, so-named by the children themselves, is largely undocumented. This is my first novel, and it is based on my father’s experience.
I have synopsis or any number of sample pages ready to send at your request. Thank you for your consideration.
Regards,
Jennie Liu