Red Dust

A uniquely magnetic work of travel writing, Red Dust is one of the most intimate portraits of modern China to reach Western readers. In little over a year, Ma Jian had been divorced by his wife, forcibly separated from his daughter, betrayed by his girlfriend, and labeled a "decadent youth" by his employer. With nothing to lose and facing arrest, he fled Beijing for western China on a journey that would last three years. Enduring everything from life-threatening deserts to smog-choked cities, he encountered all walks of life - Kazak nomads, fellow dissident artists, and mountain villagers a hundred years behind the times. In this unforgettable travelogue, he pays tribute to this incredible landscape while offering an invigorating meditation on the universal questions of love, truth, and freedom.