Yiyun Li explores the depths of loss in this novel, imagining a conversation between a mother and child in a timeless world.

Written in the months following the suicide of her sixteen-year-old child, Li traverses the critical distance between life and death, freeing the mother and son from familiar images and stories. These profound dialogues depict love and the complexity of human relationships.

Li writes in the novel: "I had one illusion, which I clung to with all my might: Nikolai was given a life of flesh and blood, and I now give it to him again, this time with words."

The novel is written with originality, precision, and balance, overflowing with painful intimacy and overwhelming love.