The book of Shanghai : a city in short fiction

The characters in this literary exploration of one of the world's biggest cities are all on a mission.

Whether it is responding to events around them, or following some impulse of their own, they are defined by their determination - a refusal to lose themselves in a city that might otherwise leave them anonymous, disconnected, alone.

From the neglected mother whose side-hustle in collecting sellable waste becomes an obsession, to the schoolboy determined to end a long-standing feud between his family and another, the characters in The Book of Shanghai show a defiance that reminds us why Shanghai - despite its hurtling economic growth -remains an epicentre for individual creativity.