When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East

Quan Barry made a splash in 2020 with a much talked about novel that focused on a girls field hockey team in the 80's. Naturally you expect her to follow that up with a Mongolian Buddhist quest story helmed by a 23 year old novice that shares a psychic connection with his rebellious twin brother.

Chuluun is in search of the reincarnated Lama and embarks on a reflective travelogue that includes sheep smuggling, personal hunting eagles, American paleontolgists and sky burials. But it's a spiritual journey as well as Chuluun wrestles with his place in the Buddhist order, especially when his pool hustling, cigarette smoking and decidedly “experienced” brother has forsaken much of the order's tenets.

It's a slow journey but one that was thoroughly savoured.