The People's Republic of Desire

the long version

Divorce, oral sex, plastic surgery. Indulging in a Starbucks coffee, admitting to the emotional repercussions of a one night stand, giggling over watching pornography. These once taboo subjects and behaviors are now the substance of daily conversations and practices amongst women in contemporary Beijing. The Tiananmen Square uprising has been forgotten.Money and status rule the city. Only two types of people seem to exist: those who admire power and wealth and those who are being admired for their power and wealth.With astonishing emotional insight, Annie Wang reveals this new face of modern China through the interlocking stories of four modern women struggling to define themselves in a society undergoing seismic cultural change. In this landmark novel, Wang paints an arresting portrait of a generation suffocating in desire. For love. For success. For security.For self actualization. And for the most elusive aspiration of all: happiness.