levon a

The Chinese poet Sheng Xue assisted J.D. Radke in creating a flawed hero who is unforgetable. 

A wooden box contains a baby hand. Do you open the box?

In this real-world Hunger Games, set in China and spanning one hundred years, a brave woman fights the establishment to achieve the greater good. Yet now is her moment to question it all. Regret lingers from a revolution she supported as a girl. An evil medicine man further complicates her life. He claims that there are hidden things in our world today. History is not what it seems to be.

Prepare to step into a world that may be like none you have ever experienced before within a novel, yet there is familiarity to it—for although levon a begins in present-day Shanghai, the story truly moves backward through time like your mind does when thinking back on life. As you read, the first sentence of each new paragraph will ground you in a step back in time. A memory then plays out before you until the next paragraph begins—again thrusting you further back in time.

Readers will be mesmerized by the rich layers and the magical storytelling found in this bold debut novel about bravery. Chinese culture, history, and dangerous political objection intertwine with memorable characters that seem somehow more than human. Set in a place where the ancient past lingers in memories, objects, and the dust of forgotten temples, levon a serves as both an escape from reality and a wakeup call to face it.

With each chapter, you will delve progressively deeper and deeper into the mysterious ways of an ancient culture on your quest to learn the full story of why a severed hand remains in this strange box.

J.D. Radke was the first American to work for Shanghai’s international airport in Pudong, China. He is a founding member of the Minnesota club of Shanghai and has served as the vice chair of the transportation committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

Among his many business ventures, Mr. Radke owned a small tattoo shop in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains in Southwest China. The tattoo designs were all made in house by locally famous calligraphers.

While working on levon a he collaborated closely with the Chinese poet Sheng Xue, a prominent figure in China’s democracy movement today. Together they created a flawed heroine who is unforgettable. J.D Radke has dedicated this book to his young son to show him through example that we all can be brave.