Ghost Cities
Book • 2024
Ghost Cities follows a young Chinese‑Australian man working as a translator at the Chinese Sydney Consulate who is discovered to be monolingual and reliant on Google Translate, plunging him into personal and cultural crisis.
The novel blends farce and haunting meditation to examine diaspora, identity, and the performative aspects of cross‑cultural communication.
Siang Lu uses sharp satire and empathy to interrogate how language, belonging and authenticity are policed within institutions.
The book’s unconventional voice and themes led to years of rejection before publication and later critical recognition, including the Miles Franklin Award.
Through its absurdist scenarios and poignant moments, Ghost Cities critiques representation while also offering a humane portrait of a man navigating failure and belonging.
The novel blends farce and haunting meditation to examine diaspora, identity, and the performative aspects of cross‑cultural communication.
Siang Lu uses sharp satire and empathy to interrogate how language, belonging and authenticity are policed within institutions.
The book’s unconventional voice and themes led to years of rejection before publication and later critical recognition, including the Miles Franklin Award.
Through its absurdist scenarios and poignant moments, Ghost Cities critiques representation while also offering a humane portrait of a man navigating failure and belonging.
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Siang Lu
Six years of writing, 200 rejections — how Miles Franklin award-winning writer Siang Lu learned to live with failure
