{"product_id":"beautiful-country-paperback","title":"Beautiful Country - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJ. R. Thornton\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"This unsettling book about the moral encounter between America and China is a study of privilege, innocence, and risk. It is a tragedy of manners and a portrait of Beijing -- amplified and torqued and unmistakable.\"-- Evan Osnos, autor of Age of Ambition, winner of the National Book Award\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA coming-of-age story set in modern day China centering on the friendship between an American and a Chinese boy who meet while training with Beijing's Junior National Tennis Team.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChase Robertson arrives in Beijing as a fourteen-year-old boy still troubled by the recent death of his older brother. He discovers a country in transition; a society in which the dual systems of Communist Era state control and an emerging entrepreneurial culture exist in paradox.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA top ranked junior tennis player in the U.S., Chase joins the practices of the Beijing National Junior Tennis Team and is immersed in the brutal, cut-throat world of Chinese sport. It is a world in which gifted children are selected at the ages of six or seven for specialized sport schools where they devote their entire youth to the pursuit of athletic excellence and are paid as professionals by the state. Athletes find themselves compelled to do anything possible to succeed--right or wrong. Those who fail to reach the pinnacle are cast aside and are left facing a desperate future without hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn China, Chase gains access to a culture rarely open to Westerners, and soon finds himself caught up in secrets. When his closest friend and teammate turns to him for help, Chase is faced with the dilemma of what to do when friendship, rules, and morals are in conflict.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA big-hearted debut, \u003cem\u003eBeautiful Country\u003c\/em\u003e explores a friendship against the backdrop of a quickly changing country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChase Robertson arrives in Beijing as a fourteen-year-old boy still troubled by the recent death of his older brother. He discovers a country in transition--a society in which the dual systems of Communist-era state control and an emerging entrepreneurial culture exist in paradox.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA U.S. top-ranked junior tennis player, Chase joins the practices of the Beijing national junior tennis team and is immersed in the brutal, cutthroat world of Chinese sports. It is a world in which gifted children are selected at the ages of six or seven for specialized sports schools where they devote their entire youth to the pursuit of athletic excellence and are paid as professionals by the state. Athletes find themselves compelled to do anything possible to succeed--right or wrong. Those who fail to reach the pinnacle are cast aside and left facing a desperate future without hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn China, Chase gains access to a culture rarely open to Westerners, and he soon finds himself caught up in secrets. When his closest friend and teammate turns to him for help, Chase is faced with the dilemma of what to do when friendship, rules, and morals are in conflict.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In many ways the quintessential 'Chimerican' novel for the millennial generation. Disarming in its candor, addictively readable.\"--Niall Ferguson, author of \u003cem\u003eKissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCivilization\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"J. R. Thornton has given his lucky readers a compelling story of innocence and experience, of East and West, of sport and pastime. Thornton is a writer of formidable talent and deep heart, and this nuanced and moving novel marks his arrival as a significant new voice in contemporary fiction.\"--Bret Anthony Johnston, author of \u003cem\u003eRemember Me Like This\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e--Yu Hua, winner of the James Joyce Award and the Grinzane Cavour Prize\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChase Robertson arrives in Beijing as a fourteen-year-old boy still troubled by the recent death of his older brother. He discovers a country in transition--a society in which the dual systems of Communist-era state control and an emerging entrepreneurial culture exist in paradox.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA U.S. top-ranked junior tennis player, Chase joins the practices of the Beijing national junior tennis team and is immersed in the brutal, cutthroat world of Chinese sports. It is a world in which gifted children are selected at the ages of six or seven for specialized sports schools where they devote their entire youth to the pursuit of athletic excellence and are paid as professionals by the state. Athletes find themselves compelled to do anything possible to succeed--right or wrong. Those who fail to reach the pinnacle are cast aside and left facing a desperate future without hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn China, Chase gains access to a culture rarely open to Westerners, and he soon finds himself caught up in secrets. When his closest friend and teammate turns to him for help, Chase is faced with the dilemma of what to do when friendship, rules, and morals are in conflict.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In many ways the quintessential 'Chimerican' novel for the millennial generation. Disarming in its candor, addictively readable.\"--Niall Ferguson, author of \u003cem\u003eKissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCivilization\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"J. R. Thornton has given his lucky readers a compelling story of innocence and experience, of East and West, of sport and pastime. Thornton is a writer of formidable talent and deep heart, and this nuanced and moving novel marks his arrival as a significant new voice in contemporary fiction.\"--Bret Anthony Johnston, author of \u003cem\u003eRemember Me Like This\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 7.9 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 02, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51773832233248,"sku":"9780062411914","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/606daf0bd06878c37fdc557a4d6469cf_615e257c-3cc6-4f8a-b099-c1b59dcdb103.webp?v=1780433914","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/beautiful-country-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}