The Man with the Compound Eyes

A masterpiece of environmental literature it is the story of an apocalyptic aboriginal encounter with modernity. With limited natural resources, the Woenesian islanders customarily require second sons to row away from the island on a voyage of no return when they come of age. One such son, Atre, leaves Woenesia only to land on another island that has formed out of a trash vortex in the middle of the Pacific. When the trash island smashes into Taiwan's east coast, the Taiwanese people are too interested in developing the east coast to clean it up and Atre is left to fend for himself. An excitingly original novel set on the coast of Taiwan that involves islands and tsunamis, the sea and mountains, a lost boy and a grieving woman searching for love and completion. The novel blends harsh fact with beautiful fantasy, mythical beings with wonderfully recognisable characters to explore our increasing disconnect from the natural world.