In the waning days of the German occupation of Norway, Karin and her husband move with their young son from Oslo to a tiny village in the south. There, they aim to live out their dream of caring for those who can’t look after themselves. They have spent months building a modest house with rooms for patients, and soon it’s filled, with three adult men who are psychologically unstable—including Karin’s uncle, Josef, who suffered a head injury in a carriage accident—and five siblings whose parents have been declared unfit. This small and idiosyncratic community persists for nearly three decades.

After his parents’ deaths, the son returns to clean out this unusual home. The objects of his childhood retain a talisman-like power over him, and key items—an orange crate where he and his sister Tone slept as infants, Josef’s medal of honor, his mother’s beloved piano—unlock vivid memories. In recounting the ways that the five siblings both are and are not a part of his family, he reveals his special relationship with Ingrid, who cannot speak, and Tone’s accidental death, and its quiet yet tragic effects on the extended family.

With deep compassion and gentle humor, Gaute Heivoll portrays an unconventional family as it navigates an uncertain and often unkind world.

Beautiful prose about the greatness of small lives. Across the China Sea is a story with lots of humour and good natured comedy (VG)

Again Heivoll shows his brilliance as a storyteller … a powerful, original, deeply moving story … in long parts this novel is both beautiful and disturbing (Dagsavisen)

In shimmering prose Heivoll portrays everyday life and the paralyzing grief that arises when tragedy strikes a family … Heivoll has never been as good as this before … Heivoll guides the reader into this extended family community with a unique understanding of people. (Adresseavisen)

Heivoll makes little people big in this captivating novel (Fædrelandsvennen)

He has done it again. This is Heivoll at his best. (Hamar Arbeiderblad)

Some of it is provoking. Some of it sad. Some of it funny. Some of it strange. With great warmth. Love. And song … Heivoll’s story affects you. Such a unique story of extraordinary lives. Of respect for other people. And the value of just being yourself. (Telemarksavisa)

No matter which reality Heivoll sets his stories against, he writes with a great human conscience. (Klassekampen)

His writer’s gaze manages to catch the people of the story. And his reliable pen makes them come alive to us … ACROSS THE CHINA SEA is characterised by a powerful humanity. It makes a powerful impression on the reader. Heivoll gives them life, all God’s fragile children of the sun. In this way, the novel becomes a book which both moves and makes us understand. (Vårt Land)