:Book description It is impossible not to be charmed by her matter-of-factness. As the story grows in complexity with Z’s growing vocabulary – the narration acquires fluency and tenses almost imperceptibly – it is equally hard not to be impressed by Guo’s vivacious talent Sophie Harrison Sunday Times Z is a 23-year-old Chinese language student who has come to London to learn English. When the book begins she can barely ask for a cup of tea, but when language comes, so does love. As she gets to know British culture she also falls for an older English man who lives a resolutely bachelor life in Hackney. It's a million miles away from the small Chinese town she comes from, where her parents want nothing more for her than that she should follow them into the shoe business. Z learns about sex, humour, companionship and passion, but she also learns the painful truth that language is also a barrier and the more you know about it, the less you understand. Written in short chapters, each the definition of a word, this is a brilliantly clever book that pokes fun at England and China and explores the endless possibilities for misunderstanding between East and West, men and women. Vintage/Modern fiction Publication date: 03/01/2008 368 pages