A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing

Qianze has not seen her father—her Ba—in eleven years, since he walked out of her life the night of her fourteenth birthday. But then she gets a call—there is a man on the porch of her childhood home, and he’s asking for her. This man isn’t the Ba Qianze remembers: he’s aged beyond recognition, struggling with dementia and alcoholism, and worst of all, haunted by a half-forgotten prophecy.

While Qianze wrestles with what she owes this near-stranger, Ba unveils fragments of their family history, from his bloody days as a Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution to his mother’s youth in Manchuria under Japanese occupation. Soon Qianze finds herself plagued by strange visions—fox spirits trail her on her evening commute, a terrifying jackalope stalks her nightmares, and the looming prophecy slinks ever closer.

Told through the eyes of three generations, A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing is a glimmering tale about forgiveness, inheritance, and the inescapability of fate.