Overview

Bone China, or Letters Not about Love is an unconventional murder mystery that blends suspense with lyrical storytelling. Its protagonist Mila Freeman is recovering from a broken leg when she receives the news that her old friend-an artist and human rights activist-has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. The death is officially ruled a suicide, but the truth lingers unresolved, seeping into Mila's world despite her friends' vow to avoid the subject. What unfolds is a witty and haunting meditation on exile, nostalgia, fractured bodies, and lost loves. Through digressive folktales, etymologies, and a chorus of emails woven into the narrative, Bone China explores the tension between silence and revelation, grief and resilience, intimacy and estrangement. A genre-defying novel, it invites readers into a mystery that is as much about memory and identity as it is about uncovering a death. With sharp wit and emotional depth, Bone China is perfect for readers who crave literary fiction that pushes boundaries while keeping them enthralled by the puzzle at its core.

Full Product Details

Author:   Svetlana Boym
Publisher:   Academic Studies Press
Imprint:   Cherry Orchard Books
ISBN:  

9798887198668

Publication Date:   12 March 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

List of Figures Preface Stephanie Sandler Bones and Banishments Friends and Freedoms Blizzard Decameron, Night One: Little Mermaid, Marco Polo, and Captain Ahab Articulations and Missing Articles Claws of a Semi-Feral Cat The Tongue Bone and a Touch of Intimacy Letters Not About Love Bone China and Immigrant Crazings Blizzard Decameron, Night Two: Lolita and the Lame Dick Placebo: Psyche and Cupid X-Rays and Russian Fairy Tales Break a Leg! Blizzard Decameron, Night Three: Rear Window in Sarajevo The Diary of Pain Accident, MD Phantom Limbs Miracles, Moon Cats, and Sun Dogs Legwork  Blizzard Decameron, Night Four: Apollo and Daphne in St. Petersburg Panic, Tibia, Loneliness, and Solitude Fibula of the Baboon and the Original Google Book Convalescence Funny Bone Blizzard Decameron, Night Five: Musical Tibia: On the Anti-Narcissistic Origins of Art Step into the Same River Twice

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Author Information

Svetlana Boym was a prolific writer of literary essays, fiction, and plays, as well as a keen photographer. Her books included The Future of Nostalgia (2001) and Another Freedom: An Alternative History of an Idea (2010). She taught at Harvard University until her death in 2015.

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