Shi Naseer in-conversation with Meabh O'Neill

A gripping coming-of-age tale of a grief-stricken young girl in turn-of-the-century China that reveals the devastating consequences of the one-child policy.

1994, rural China: Twelve-year-old Chen Di loves and protects her long-awaited little brother, but when she witnesses an unforgettable scene with her aunties and the authorities, everything she thought she knew about her community is ripped away from her. 2002, Shanghai: A gutsy young aikido-practising Chen Di is utterly transformed from her naive younger self. 

Now hardened by experience, her determination to avenge her mother's killer is stronger than ever - and she has steeled herself against affection of any kind. Alone in the big city, and with the unwanted attentions of a cocky, wise-cracking teenage boy and a martial arts teacher intent on peace over violence, her toughness starts being chipped away - planting a seed of doubt about going through with her plan for revenge. 

Spanning a decade at the turn of the twenty-first century, The Cry of the Silkworm is an emotional and thought-provoking tale of one young woman's coming of age - and a stark look at the impact of China's one-child policy, from a strikingly fresh new voice.

Shi Naseer grew up in China under the one-child policy before immigrating to Australia as a teenager and subsequently earning a master's in mathematics from Cambridge University and PhD in black-hole physics from Harvard University. She currently divides her time between Connecticut and Pakistan, and lives with her husband and son.

Méabh O'Neill has been working in the Sydney area as a social worker specialising in youth work, child welfare and homelessness for the past 10 years. In her spare time, she is an avid reader who will always enthusiastically encourage people to read her favourite book Pachinko. Méabh joined the Better Reader book club in 2017, looking to make some new friends and never left. She now runs Inqueering Minds Book Club and facilitates author talks.