A Single Swallow

By: Zhang Ling, Shelly Bryant - translator

Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Adam Verner, Feodor Chin, Tanya Eby, Christopher Lane

The eagerly awaited English translation of award-winning author Zhang Ling’s epic and intimate novel about the devastation of war, forgiveness, redemption, and the enduring power of love.

On the day of the historic 1945 Jewel Voice Broadcast - in which Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II - three men, flush with jubilation, made a pact. After their deaths, each year on the anniversary of the broadcast, their souls would return to the Chinese village of their younger days. It’s where they had fought - and survived - a war that shook the world and changed their own lives in unimaginable ways. Now, seventy years later, the pledge is being fulfilled by American missionary Pastor Billy, brash gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson, and local soldier Liu Zhaohu.

All that’s missing is Ah Yan - also known as Swallow - the girl each man loved, each in his own profound way.

As they unravel their personal stories of the war, and of the woman who touched them so deeply during that unforgiving time, the story of Ah Yan’s life begins to take shape, woven into view by their memories. A woman who had suffered unspeakable atrocities, and yet found the grace and dignity to survive, she’d been the one to bring them together. And it is her spark of humanity, still burning brightly, that gives these ghosts of the past the courage to look back on everything they endured and remember the woman they lost.

©2017 Zhang Ling. Translation © 2020 by Shelly Bryant. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“An ensemble of five gifted narrators splendidly conveys the haunting language and imagery in this WWII story.” —AudioFile Magazine

“[A] unique premise of ghostly rendezvous among soldiers, combined with first loves for all three men…Clever use of newspaper accounts, military reports, and letters to loved ones advance the plot and complement the dialogue effectively and interestingly…superb…highly recommended.” —Historical Novel Society

“Zhang Ling helps the reader see events through a distinctly Chinese perspective in which characters speak from the after-life and natural objects have human agency. A thought-provoking work of fiction.” —KATU-TV (Portland, OR)

Haunting and Beautiful

I lost a night's sleep listening. A timer is set and normally I fall into a deep sleep when the time is up. Instead, I lay unsettled and wanting to reset the timer, finally giving into the urge. The story is beautifully written, the narration engaging, the theme haunting. Thank you for offering this book during World Book Day. It has expanded my knowledge of the influence of WWII in the Chinese society.

read it

If I could give this a 6th star in each and every category, I would.

Very Clever, Well Written

Such an interesting story. It took a bit of listening to get the gist of it and I almost gave up thinking the premise was ridiculous. So very glad I listened to the end. This is a sweet love story....not a romance, rather true love. The characters were well described and presented including the dogs! 5 stars for sure!

A Gripping Saga

A fascinating and moving story told from several perspectives. The intersections are often surprising and sometimes shocking. It’s a very real saga of the toll, both physical and emotional, that war takes on the life of those truly subjected to it.

loved it!

well written story that shows the impact of one woman has in so many lives.