Vanishing Act

by Mian Mian

Vanishing Act is a depiction of terror, and it presents a new type of "urban humanity," people who "change back and forth between monsters and saviors."This novel also depicts the spirit of Shanghai nights-a unique spirit which marvelously is both reflected and is a reflection of Mian Mian's fictional world.The story takes place in Shanghai, a country called "Inner Kingdom" 内国, and other places, identified only by the geographic coordinates, XXX, XXX.The male and female protagonists don't have set names and are respectively referred to as "the male protagonist" and "the female protagonist." The male protagonist "may be Chinese, and he may European."The novel's true main character may in fact be "the male protagonist's" closest friend in Shanghai, Hong ("red" in Mandarin), a Shanghai author who has been writing fiction since the age of 14. Hong is also the main character in Mian Mian's groundbreaking novel, Candy.

261 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2019

About the author

Mian is a young Chinese writer. She writes on China's once-taboo topics and she is a promoter of Shanghai's local music. Her publications have earned her the reputation as China's literary wild child.

Her first novel, Candy, has been translated into English. Her other novels include Every good child deserves to eat candy. Her novel We Are Panic was made into a movie, Shanghai Panic, in which she also acted one of the lead roles.

In late 2009, she sued Google over the company scanning her books for its online library. She demanded ¥61,000 and a public apology. Google removed the book from its library.