Abstract
"Twin-Sun River" tells the story of Pfc Simon Mackenzie who chooses to disappear in the heartland of China to chase his "Walden" or "Peach Orchard Outside the World" dream soon after the armistice was effected. There, in a small mountain village, Simon's decision is tested over and again as he struggles to survive a big flood, the Great Leap Forward, the Famine, and finally, the Cultural Revolution and as he becomes enmeshed in the life of a Chinese family and their beautiful "widowed" daughter-in-law.Parallel to Simon's journey is that of Jie Ding, a humanities professor who traverses the changing landscape of China during the summer of 2001 to accomplish an impossible mission while trying to exorcise his own demons: his marital problems and the haunting memories of the Cultural Revolution.The two journeys "crisscross" and finally converge on the Twin-Sun River glimmering under the early fall sky.
