Kinder than solitude

de Yiyun Li

A tale set in today's America and China in the 1990s, follows the experiences of three people who in their youths were involved in a mysterious accident that resulted in a friend's fatal poisoning and years later are haunted by the possibility that one of them actually committed a murder. When Moran, Ruyu, and Boyang were young, they were involved in a mysterious "accident" in which a friend of theirs was poisoned. Grown up, the three friends are separated by distance and personal estrangement. Moran and Ruyu live in the United States, Boyang in China. Over the years, all three are haunted by what really happened in their youth, and by doubt about themselves. The story resonates with observations about human nature and life, as the author explores the impact of personality and the past on the shape of a person's present and future. -- From publisher description.