Paperbacks: Miss Chopsticks, by Xinran

Three country sisters make their way in the bright lights of Nanjing in this latest collaboration between Xinran and the translator, Esther Tyldesley, who has made her such a hit in the UK.

As women from a poor community, the Li sisters know that girls are a dispensable commodity - like chopsticks, their father says. This tender account of their adventures in the big city is not to be mistaken for a story "of China", according to its author. What it is is a haunting portrait of three women, from a huge literary talent.