Foreign Seed - by Allison Alsup

About the Book

Inspired by historical events, Foreign Seed traces the investigation into a missing American botanical explorer from the Yangtze River in 1918.

Book Synopsis

74th National Jewish Book Awards Finalist - Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction

"I got completely and gratefully lost in its rich setting and memorable characters. You will, too." --Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Somebody's Fool

Equal parts mystery and epic novel inspired by historical events, Foreign Seed plunges readers into the search for a man who seems to vanish out of thin air.

China, June 1918.

When the explorer Frank Meyer suddenly disappears from a ferry on the Yangtze River, American Vice-Consul Samuel Sokobin is tasked with finding the missing man. By the time Sokobin receives the case, four days have passed since Meyer was last seen on the vast river. With no clues to guide his search and fearing failure in his new post as a man of rank, Sokobin heads upriver with Mr. Lin, a Chinese interpreter he's never met. The investigation soon turns deeply personal for Sokobin, who can't help but conflate Meyer's fate with that of his own daring younger brother--a fighter pilot gone MIA in the world war. As Sokobin continues to search for answers, this mental connection threatens to break him, and he's forced to contend with the biggest question of all: what do we do when the answers we most desperately seek are the very ones that elude us?

A sweeping tale of loss and grief, Foreign Seed is a moving testament to friendship, faith, and the resilience of the human spirit. Allison Alsup's exquisitely-researched debut novel will stay in readers' hearts and minds long after they've turned the last page.

Review Quotes

"Foreign Seed, with its subtle, subterranean Heart of Darkness rumblings, is one of the most satisfying novels I've read in a long time. I got completely and gratefully lost in its rich setting and memorable characters. You will, too." --Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Somebody's Fool

"Foreign Seed is an ambitious novel about a cautious man. It's 1918 and Samuel Sokobin, the new American vice-consul in Nanking, China, lives in a stressful milieu of casual anti-Semitism from his colleagues and his own ignorance of the Chinese world. In order to succeed, he tries to subvert his Jewish identity and present a bland, anonymous self. Then Sobokin is assigned to find an explorer who has drowned the Yangtze River--or perhaps has been murdered. Alsup handles the fascinating complications of Foreign Seed beautifully, pulling the reader through Sobokin's fears to his triumphant growth." --Laura Furman, author and former series editor of The O. Henry Prize Stories

"In Allison Alsup's stunning debut novel, Foreign Seed, American Vice Consul Samual Sokobin's search for a missing explorer forces him to come to terms with the probable death of his brother, an MIA WWI fighter pilot. Sokobin ultimately finds comfort and wisdom in the most unlikely places and fortitude in his abandoned Jewish faith. With soul, grace, and psychological savvy, Alsup infuses hope into this tale of uncertainty and grief. Foreign Seed is an elegantly constructed novel of our time, one that will stay with me for a long while." --Michelle Brafman, author of Washing the Dead and Swimming with Ghosts

"Alsup has produced the perfect book. It is beautifully written. The characters are maddeningly interesting. She explores issues of the time with a persistent whisper. And it revolves around the man who sent the Meyer lemon to America. The barest thread of a connection anchors the entire book in her astonishing imagination. It was a delicious read that I did not want to end." --Liz Williams, author of Nana's Creole Italian Table, Lift Your Spirits, and New Orleans: A Food Biography, and Tip of the Tongue podcast

"Allison Alsup's deftly propulsive debut illustrates the profound, rippling impact of even the smallest gestures and revelations--and how empathy transcends language and customs. What begins as a missing person's case shifts into a moving journey of one man's reckoning with grief, loss, and personal fallibility. Evocative and elegiac, Foreign Seed casts a spell of quiet wonderment." --Chin-Sun Lee, author of Upcountry

"In a narrative that relies less on the facts of the historical events that inspired the author than it does on the perennial human quest to stay longest with our most unanswerable questions, Allison Alsup creates the story of one man's reckoning with history and himself. Alsup's Sokobin embarks on a sojourn that is rooted in his physical movement up the Yangtze River, though it is the way that journey forces him to traverse his own psyche that takes over. A read that will deliver a satisfying resolution for fans of fast-paced historical fiction." --Ru Freeman, author of Bon Courage: Essays on Inheritance, Citizenship, and a Creative Life

"Allison Alsup's richly detailed, atmospheric novel, Foreign Seed, transports us to a fascinating, unfamiliar time and place. Based on history and infused with mystery, her engrossing narrative, set in a turbulent warlord-ridden China, occurs over just seven days in 1918... Themes of friendship, family, and faith create the weft and warp in Alsup's beautiful historical mystery." --Martha's Vineyard Times

"Alsup's deft and descriptive prose delivers up a heaving, bustling, and vibrant China.... Foreign Seed is an exceptionally written and beautiful story that deserves a wide readership." --The Historical Novel Society

About the Author

Allison Alsup has won multiple contests and recognitions, including the 2014 O. Henry Prize Stories, Best Food Writing 2015, and the UK'S 2018 Manchester Fiction Prize shortlist. She is the co-founder of the non-profit New Orleans Writers Workshop, where, in addition to teaching, Allison mentors fellow writers one-on-one to develop their stories. Foreign Seed is her first novel.