Lost in Translation : A Novel

Amazon.com Review Nicole Mones doesn't waste any time getting to the heart of the matter in her first novel, Lost in Translation . Within the first 10 pages we discover that protagonist Alice Mannegan, an interpreter based in Beijing, has a yen for sex with Chinese men. By the time we reach page 20, we've learned that Alice is in full flight from her father, a racist U.S. congressman, and about to start working for Adam Spencer, an American archeologist on the hunt for the missing bones of one of the century's biggest scientific finds: Peking man. Having set the stage, Mones steps back and lets her characters do the work as she proceeds to spin a tale that is part mystery, part love story, and part cultural exchange. Alice and Spencer travel to a remote region of China, accompanied by Dr. Lin Shiyang, with whom Alice falls in love. Mones spends a fair amount of time on the team's search for the bones, whose mysterious disappearance during the Second World War has never been explained, but her main focus is less on finding Peking man than on exposing the skeletons in her main characters' closets. As Alice, Spencer, and Dr. Lin move forward in their quest, they are forced to reckon with their pasts. Each, it seems, has an ulterior reason for being where they are and doing what they do, and it is in the subtle play of personalities, motivations, and misunderstandings that Lost in Translation finds its rhythm. The key to the novel's success is Mones's in-depth knowledge of China's culture, history, and politics. The question of cultural identity is at the core of her tale, and she skillfully weaves various aspects of Chinese life--from ancestor worship to the Cultural Revolution--into the personal relationships of her characters. By novel's end, readers have discovered a great deal about archeology, China, and most especially about the unmapped territories of memory, desire, and identity. Lost in Translation is a fine first novel, the first salvo of a promising literary career. From Publishers Weekly An attention-grabbing opening chapter in which the protagonist, translator/interpreter Alice Mannegan, rides off on her bicycle to a sexual tryst in Beijing, hints that this debut suspense novel will be a racy read. But Alice's sensuality is just one factor in Mones's complex portrait of a woman in search of herself, played out against the exotic background of some of China's remotest regions, a story that reveals as much about character and cultural difference as it does about a search for priceless, long-lost fossils. China is Alice's spiritual home, where she feels far removed from her loving but racist father, a U.S congressman whose political opinions she deplores. But despite her desire to belong there, she is still considered an "outside woman." She signs on as interpreter for archeologist Adam Spencer, who believes that the remains of Peking Man were hidden in the Mongolian desert during WWII by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Joined by two Chinese scientists, they venture into remote regions where the urgency of the search is paralleled by Alice's increasing attraction to Dr. Lin Shiyang, whose wife vanished from a labor camp in that region 20 years ago, and by the unfolding story of the relationship of Teilhard and an American woman who loved him. The authenticity of Mones's background detailAfrom the rituals of ancestor worship to the workings of the PLA police and the food at a Mongolian banquetAbrings fresh insight into the nuances of Chinese culture. Though the narrative tension is more intellectual than visceral, and some pivotal events of the plot seem too convenient, Mones succeeds in integrating archeological history, spiritual philosophy and cultural dislocation into a tale of identity on many levels. Author tour. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

a Novel Of Searing Intelligence And Startling Originality, lost In Translation Heralds The Debut Of A Unique New Voice On The Literary Landscape.  nicole Mones Creates An Unforgettable Story Of Love And Desire, Of Family Ties And Human Conflict, And Of One Woman's Struggle To Lose Herself In A Foreign Land—only To Discover Her Home, Her Heart, Herself.

at Dawn In Beijing, Alice Mannegan Pedals A Bicycle Through The Deserted Streets.  an American By Birth, A Translator By Profession, She Spends Her Nights In Beijing's Smoke-filled Bars, And The Chinese Men She So Desires Never Misunderstand Her Intentions.  all Around Her Rushes The Air Of China, The Scent Of History And Change, Of A World Where She Has Come To Escape Her Father's Love And Her Own Pain.  it Is A World In Which, Each Night As She Slips From Her Hotel, She Hopes To Lose Herself Forever.

for Alice, It Began With A Phone Call From An American Archaeologist Seeking A Translator.  and It Ended In An Intoxicating Journey Of The Heart—one That Would Plunge Her Into A Nation's Past, And Into Some Of The Most Rarely Glimpsed Regions Of China.  hired By An Archaeologist Searching For The Bones Of Peking Man, Alice Joins An Expedition That Penetrates A Vast, Uncharted Land And Brings Professor Lin Shiyang Into Her Life.  as They Draw Closer To Unearthing The Secret Of Peking Man, As The Group's Every Move Is Followed, Their Every Whisper Recorded, Alice And Lin Find Shelter In Each Other, Slowly Putting To Rest The Ghosts Of Their Pasts.  what Happens Between Them Becomes One Of The Most Breathtakingly Erotic Love Stories In Recent Fiction.  indeed, lost In Translation Is A Novel About Love—between A Nation And Its Past, Between A Man And A Memory, Between A Father And A Daughter.  its Powerful Impact Confirms The Extraordinary Gifts Of A Master Storyteller, Nicole Mones.

seattle Times

a Pleasurable, Observant, And Exciting Paean For China, Its Languages, Peoples, Cultural History And Ways Of Thinking.

A novel of searing intelligence and startling originality, Lost in Translation heralds the debut of a unique new voice on the literary landscape. Nicole Mones creates an unforgettable story of love and desire, of family ties and human conflict, and of one woman's struggle to lose herself in a foreign land--only to discover her home, her heart, herself.At dawn in Beijing, Alice Mannegan pedals a bicycle through the deserted streets. An American by birth, a translator by profession, she spends her nights in Beijing's smoke-filled bars, and the Chinese men she so desires never misunderstand her intentions. All around her rushes the air of China, the scent of history and change, of a world where she has come to escape her father's love and her own pain. It is a world in which, each night as she slips from her hotel, she hopes to lose herself forever.For Alice, it began with a phone call from an American archaeologist seeking a translator. And it ended in an intoxicating journey of the heart--one that would plunge her into a nation's past, and into some of the most rarely glimpsed regions of China. Hired by an archaeologist searching for the bones of Peking Man, Alice joins an expedition that penetrates a vast, uncharted land and brings Professor Lin Shiyang into her life. As they draw closer to unearthing the secret of Peking Man, as the group's every move is followed, their every whisper recorded, Alice and Lin find shelter in each other, slowly putting to rest the ghosts of their pasts. What happens between them becomes one of the most breathtakingly erotic love stories in recent fiction. Indeed, Lost in Translation is a novel about love--between a nation and its past, between a man and a memory, between a father and a daughter. Its powerful impact confirms the extraordinary gifts of a master storyteller, Nicole Mones. A novel of searing intelligence and startling originality, Lost in Translation heralds the debut of a unique new voice on the literary landscape.Nicole Mones creates an unforgettable story of love and desire, of family ties and human conflict, and of one woman's struggle to lose herself in a foreign land--only to discover her home, her heart, herself. At dawn in Beijing, Alice Mannegan pedals a bicycle through the deserted streets.An American by birth, a translator by profession, she spends her nights in Beijing's smoke-filled bars, and the Chinese men she so desires never misunderstand her intentions.All around her rushes the air of China, the scent of history and change, of a world where she has come to escape her father's love and her own pain.It is a world in which, each night as she slips from her hotel, she hopes to lose herself forever. For Alice, it began with a phone call from an American archaeologist seeking a translator.And it ended in an intoxicating journey of the heart--one that would plunge her into a nation's past, and into some of the most rarely glimpsed regions of China.Hired by an archaeologist searching for the bones of Peking Man, Alice joins an expedition that penetrates a vast, uncharted land and brings Professor Lin Shiyang into her life.As they draw closer to unearthing the secret of Peking Man, as the group's every move is followed, their every whisper recorded, Alice and Lin find shelter in each other, slowly putting to rest the ghosts of their pasts.What happens between them becomes one of the most breathtakingly erotic love stories in recent fiction.Indeed, Lost in Translation is a novel about love--between a nation and its past, between a man and a memory, between a father and a daughter.Its powerful impact confirms the extraordinary gifts of a master storyteller, Nicole Mones. "At dawn in Beijing, Alice Mannegan pedals a bicycle through the deserted streets. An American by birth, a translator by profession, she spends her nights in Beijing's smoke-filled bars and the Chinese men she so desires never misunderstand her intentions. All around her rushes the air of China, the scent of history and change, of a world where she has come to escape her father's love and her own pain." "Hired by an archaeologist searching for the bones of Peking Man, Alice joins an expedition that penetrates a vast, uncharted land and brings Professor Lin Shiyang into her life. As they draw closer to unearthing the secret of Peking Man, as the group's every move is followed, their every whisper recorded, Alice and Lin find shelter in each other, slowly putting to rest the ghosts of their pasts."--Jacket A romance in China between a white American woman and a Chinese scientist. The heroine is Alice who works in China as a translator. She joins an expedition of which he is part and together they search for the remains of the Peking Man Alice Mannegan, an American translator in Beijing, joins professor Lin Shiyang on an archaeological expedition that becomes a breathtaking erotic journey across some of the most far-flung regions of China and into her past.