Heaven Lake

Vincent Saunders has graduated from college, left his small hometown in Illinois, and arrived in Taiwan as a Christian volunteer. After opening a ministry house, he meets a wealthy Taiwanese businessman, Mr. Gwa, who tells Vincent that on his far travels to western China he has discovered a beautiful young woman living near the famous landmark Heaven Lake. Elegant, regal, clever, she works as a lowly clerk in the local railway station. Gwa wishes to marry her, but is thwarted by the political conflict between China and Taiwan. In exchange for a sum of money, will Vincent travel to China on Gwa's behalf, take part in a counterfeit marriage, and bring her back to Taiwan for Gwa to marry legitimately? Vincent, largely innocent about the ways of the world and believing that marriage is a sacrament, says no. Gwa is furious.

Soon, though, everything Vincent understands about himself and his vocation in Taiwan changes. Supplementing his income from his sparsely attended Bible-study classes, he teaches English to a group of enthusiastic schoolgirls — and it is his tender, complicated friendship with a student that forces Vincent to abandon the ministry house and sends him on a path toward spiritual reckoning. It also causes him to reconsider Gwa's extraordinary proposition.

What follows is not just an exhilarating — sometimes harrowing — journey to a remote city in China, but an exploration of love, passion, loneliness, and the nature of faith. John Dalton's exquisite narrative arcs across China as gracefully as it plumbs the human heart, announcing a major new talent.

"Sober and searching yet sublimely comic, this impressive debut about a modern-day missionary in Taiwan charts a journey away from reflexive faith and toward a broader understanding of the world and its ways....This is a noteworthy first novel by a writer to watch." Publishers Weekly

"Vincent's passage from a sheltered, religious life into reality is filled with dramatic episodes and unique characters that make this an exciting page-turner." Library Journal

"Dalton's debut novel is an evocative, beautiful exploration of modern-day China....Powerful and rewarding reading." Booklist

"Dalton...renders the events of Vincent's story with a vivid, cinematic intensity....Heaven Lake is at its most powerful when its brilliant portraits of the Chinese and Taiwanese landscapes yield emotional revelation." Boston Globe

"A thorough work of operatic feeling and proportion..." San Francisco Chronicle,

"Heaven Lake is an auspicious debut, an often amusing novel that also manages to be thoughtful about matters of faith, about human communication and about learning to live in the world." San Jose Mercury News

"The novel...feels just right....[Dalton] writes about faith with all the humility of his protagonist but with deft brush strokes of humor and with a lush prose..." Miami Herald

Booklist called this critically acclaimed, epic novel of love and revelation "an evocative, beautiful exploration of modern-day China."

When Vincent Saunders — fresh out of college in the States — arrives in Taiwan as a Christian volunteer and English teacher, he meets a wealthy Taiwanese businessman who wishes to marry a young woman living in China near Heaven Lake but is thwarted by political conflict. Mr. Gwa wonders: In exchange for money, will Vincent travel to China, take part in a counterfeit marriage, and bring the woman back to Taiwan for Gwa to marry legitimately? Believing that marriage is a sacrament, Vincent says no.

Soon, though, everything Vincent understands about himself and his vocation in Taiwan changes. A complicated friendship with one of the high-school girls he teaches sends him on a path toward spiritual reckoning. It also causes him to reconsider Gwa's extraordinary proposition. What follows is not just an exhilarating — sometimes harrowing — journey to a remote city in China, but an exploration of love, loneliness, and the nature of faith.

When Vincent Saunders — fresh out of college in the States — arrives in Taiwan as a Christian volunteer and English teacher, he meets a wealthy Taiwanese businessman who wishes to marry a young woman living in China near Heaven Lake but is thwarted by political conflict. Mr. Gwa wonders: In exchange for money, will Vincent travel to China, take part in a counterfeit marriage, and bring the woman back to Taiwan for Gwa to marry legitimately? Believing that marriage is a sacrament, Vincent says no.

Soon, though, everything Vincent understands about himself and his vocation in Taiwan changes. A complicated friendship with one of the high-school girls he teaches sends him on a path toward spiritual reckoning. It also causes him to reconsider Gwa's extraordinary proposition. What follows is not just an exhilarating — sometimes harrowing — journey to a remote city in China, but an exploration of love, loneliness, and the nature of faith.

John Dalton is the author of the novel, Heaven Lake, winner of the Barnes and Noble 2004 Discover Award in fiction and the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and is currently a member of the English faculty at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he teaches in their MFA Writing Program.  John lives with his wife and two daughters in St. Louis.

 

Contents

Part One: The Volunteer

Part Two: Sister Gloria, Sister Moon

Part Three: Best Intentions

Part Four: The Goat Herder

Part Five: The Other Half