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Water Washes Earth

A Novel

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Water Washes Earth

By: Michael James
Narrated by: Christy St. John, Michael James
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About this listen

Water Washes Earth is a literary fiction that reimagines the age-old tale of love thwarted by circumstance, culture, and power. It is set in the waning years of British colonial rule in Hong Kong—a city caught between two worlds, teetering on the edge of transformation.

The story unfolds through the dual perspectives of Lisa, a determined Chinese woman, and James, an idealistic American. Their love is a luminous thread woven into a fabric of societal expectations, political upheaval, and the lingering shadows of imperialism. From the bustling streets of Kowloon to the quiet elegance of Central’s colonial-era buildings, their relationship plays out against a city that is itself divided—between East and West, tradition and modernity, hope and resignation.

Lisa, shaped by her father’s powerful political legacy in Beijing and her education in the West, struggles to reconcile her sense of duty with a longing for freedom and love. James, a mirror of the contradictions in Lisa’s life, brings with him the optimism and naivety of his American upbringing. Together, they confront the forces that would keep them apart.

Water Washes Earth captures the passion and poignancy of two lives intertwined. In a world where identity is political and love is rebellion, their story echoes with the inevitability of heartbreak and the triumph of hope, however fleeting.

©2025 Michael McNabb (P)2025 Michael McNabb
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