To Paradise is a meditation on connection and loneliness, and how government and politics can affect people’s ability to connect. Someone to Talk To, in translation from Chinese, deals with similar themes in a different country and over a different historical time period. In it, a kidnapped girl named Qiaoling is the link between two men named Yang Baishun and Niu Aiguo. Both Yang and Niu have struggled to forge connections over the course of their lives. As the novel unfolds, it underscores the nature of communication and the long reach small actions can have.