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Published in USA
Sep 2009
384 pages
Genre: Novels
Publication Information
From the critically acclaimed author of Beneath a Marble Sky and Beside a Burning Sea—a new novel set in modern-day Vietnam.
Dragon House tells the tale of Iris and Noah—two Americans who, as a way of healing their own painful pasts, open a center to house and educate Vietnamese street children. In the slums of a city that has known little but war for generations, Iris and Noah befriend children who dream of nothing more than of going to school, having a home, and being loved. Learning from the poorest of the poor, the most silent of the unheard, Iris and Noah find themselves reborn. Resounding with powerful themes of suffering, sacrifice, friendship, and love, Dragon House brings together East and West, war and peace, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.
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"In a large cast of appealing characters, the street children are the heart of this book; their talents, friendships, and perils keep you turning the pages."
- Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club
"There is a tenderness in this moving, deeply descriptive novel that brings all those frequently hidden qualities of compassion, purity of mind, and, yes, love—the things we used to call the human spirit—into the foreground of our feeling as readers. This is a beautiful heart speaking to us of the beautiful world we could and should find, even in the darkness that so often floods the world with fear." - Gregory David Roberts, bestselling author of Shantaram
"A sprawling, vibrant novel." – David Oliver Relin, bestselling author of Three Cups of Tea
"This is strong, important work from a gifted writer." – Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
Fictional characters serve mainly as mouthpieces for an admittedly noble mission (portions of the novel's proceeds will support a Vietnamese children's foundation); nonfiction might have better served the author's purpose." - Kirkus Reviews
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After graduating from Colorado College, John Shors lived for several years in Kyoto, Japan, where he taught English. On a shoestring budget, he later trekked across Asia, visiting ten countries and climbing the Himalayas. After returning to the United States, he became a newspaper reporter in his hometown, Des Moines, Iowa, winning several statewide awards in journalism. John then moved to Boulder, Colorado, and helped launch GroundFloor Media, now one of the state's largest public relations firms.
John has been lucky enough to spend much of his life abroad, traveling in Asia, the South Pacific, Europe, Africa, and North America. Now a full-time novelist, John spends his days writing and going on family outings with his wife, Allison, and their two young children, Sophie and Jack.
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