Summary

In Chapter One: “Eastward Ho,” the narrator Shelley (whose name is not said until much later) describes how his relatives always treat him poorly. When his father announced he was going to send Shelley to their rich uncle in America, he was excited, as he wants to be a poet and does not believe he can do so in China. He explains he was born into the despised branch of the family, as his great-grandfather was a wayward son. Six months after his 18th birthday, Shelley prepares to leave for America and promises to send his distraught father a phone so they can talk. Shelley remembers how his father always told stories to his terminally ill mother, but stopped after her death. Shelley goes to the airport alone and tells his own stories to a little girl waiting for...