Ghost Cities
Title: Ghost Cities
Author: Siang Lu
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Shortlist: John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing
Ghost Cities – inspired by the vacant, uninhabited megacities of China – follows multiple narratives, including one in which a young man named Xiang is fired from his job as a translator at Sydney’s Chinese Consulate after it is discovered he doesn’t speak a word of Chinese and has been relying entirely on Google Translate for his work.
How is his relocation to one such ghost city connected to a parallel odyssey in which an ancient Emperor creates a thousand doubles of Himself? Or where a horny mountain gains sentience? Where a chess-playing automaton hides a deadly secret? Or a tale in which every book in the known Empire is destroyed – then re-created, page by page and book by book, all in the name of love and art?
Allegorical and imaginative, Ghost Cities will appeal to readers of Haruki Murakami and Italo Calvino.
Judges’ report
Ghost Cities by Siang Lu is a brilliantly inventive novel that defies categorisation, blending mythology, satire, and surrealism into a narrative as sprawling and strange as the titular cities. Lu’s deft hand guides readers through labyrinthine tales of emperors, traitors, and office workers, crafting a world where history, power, and identity collide in unexpected ways. The novel is laced with biting humour, philosophical musings, and sly commentary on cultural dislocation and self-perception. Lu’s playful, often absurd prose conjures a universe that feels simultaneously ancient and contemporary, highlighting his prowess as a storyteller who delights in upending expectations
About the Author
Photo By Andreas Weiss
Siang Lu
VPLA book photography by Sarah Walker
The 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are proudly supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund and Creative Victoria.