When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East

Acclaimed novelist/poet Barry follows up her latest work of fiction, We Ride Upon Sticks, by transporting readers to a lush and windswept Mongolia. The novel opens as Chuluun, a Mongolian monk, reunites with his identical twin brother Mun in the busy capital of Ulaanbaatar. Mun was once a monk known as the “Redeemer Who Sounds the Conch in the Darkness” but has since renounced his vows owing to a familiarity with women, as his brother explains. Tasked with finding the reincarnation of a revered spiritual leader, they set off on a two-week journey with two companions. The rich narrative looks at Chuluun’s life as a Mongolian monk while providing insights into the country’s various cultures. While the depth and breadth of some of these passages can get a bit unwieldy, what shines here is the distinctive and enduring bond between the two brothers despite the different directions their lives have taken.