num_pages: 126
description: An NYRB Classics OriginalThe hero of The Invisibility Cloak lives in contemporary Beijingwhere everyone is doing their best to hustle up the ladder of success while shouldering an ever-growing burden of consumer goodsand hes a loser. Well into his forties hes divorced (and still doting on his ex) childless and living with his sister (her husband wants him out) in an apartment at the edge of town with a crack in the wall the wind from the north blows through while he gets by just by making customized old-fashioned amplifiers for the occasional rich audio-obsessive. He has contempt for his clients and contempt for himself. The only things he really likes are Beethoven and vintage speakers. Then an old friend tips him off about a special joba little risky but just dont ask too many questionsand can it really be that this hopeless loser wins?This provocative and seriously funny exercise in the social fantastic by the brilliantly original Ge Fei one of Chinas finest living writers is among the most original works of fiction to come out of China in recent years. It is sure to appeal to readers of Haruki Murakami and other fabulists of contemporary irreality.
language: English
title: The Invisibility Cloak
publisher: New York Review Books