Call it the Far East equivalent of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four if you please, but there is a difference. Whereas Orwellian conditions did not become realities in London circa 1984 as Orwell depicts in his novel - or thereafter - they did materialize in a country in the Far East about two decades earlier. Therefore, The Socialist Cuckooland is fiction based on historical facts. Against such an Orwellian backdrop, Barry Lee, who is always in fear, struggles for survival. You'll find out how and why he attempts to flee. You'll find out what he has to go through in order to seek freedom. Yet, at the same time, you'll also find out how miraculously - and perhaps enigmatically - lucky stars shine on some people while so many others cannot make it amid the most disastrous political maelstrom in the country's history. Evoking vivid images of what it is like to live under socialist tyranny, Robert M. Liu's heart-gripping historical romance provides a poignant education on the evil of totalitarianism as well as the preciousness of liberty. It is a moving, interesting, and thought-provoking story.