White Faced Lies

Centered on a veteran American face-jobber pulling one final con, "White Faced Lies" is a darkly comedic story that explores questions of race, systemic fraud and personal greed in the post-truth world.

Publisher Marketing: "In China, local companies hire white (but not necessarily qualified) Americans to lend them credibility. Cons such as these, known as 'face jobs', are instances in which Chinese companies hire foreigners to pose as professionals to lend credibility during meetings, press conferences, and other events where 'face' is paramount. When veteran "face-jobber' Stanley hires a new assistant who thinks Stanley is his long-lost father, Stanley attempts to pull off the con of a lifetime by pretending to be his assistant's dad. A darkly humorous critique of the post-truth world that explores questions of race, systemic fraud and personal greed ... [and] ultimately about how easily lies become truth"-- Review Quotes : "Genuine, unflinching, and original in its examination of race and privilege, and how con artists can thrive in corrupted environments." - Kirkus Reviews "The story is mostly humorous with a little melancholy and the absurd splashed in, taking a different look at the way foreigners get by in China compared to the typical expat-in-China story." - Asian Review of Books Publisher Marketing : In China, local companies hire white (but not necessarily qualified) Americans to lend them credibility. Cons such as these, known as "face jobs", are instances in which Chinese companies hire foreigners to pose as professionals to lend credibility during meetings, press conferences, and other events where "face" is paramount. When veteran "face-jobber" Stanley hires a new assistant who thinks Stanley is his long-lost father, Stanley attempts to pull off the con of a lifetime by pretending to be his assistant's dad. A darkly humorous critique of the post-truth world that explores questions of race, systemic fraud and personal greed, "White Faced Lies" is ultimately about how easily lies become truth. Contributor Bio: Flanagan, Eric Eric Flanagan is an American writer and filmmaker from Texas. For the past decade he has been based in South East Asia, where he has witnessed firsthand the changes sweeping through the region. His short film "Teleglobal Dreamin'" won a jury award at the SXSW Film Festival and screened on PBS. He lives in Manila, where he is developing stories for the local and international market. Contributor Bio: Voutas, Sam Sam Voutas is an Australian writer and filmmaker who was raised in Beijing. To research "White Faced Lies", he worked various "face jobs" around China while documenting the process. His feature film, "King of Peking", premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017 and was released globally by Netflix. The screenplay for that film was invited into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences permanent library collection. Contributor Bio: McEvenue, Timothy Timothy McEvenue is a Canadian illustrator, and ex long-time Beijing resident. While living in China, McEvenue worked as a model, where he had the opportunity to see behind the curtain of foreigners hired strictly for "face". His illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, South China Morning Post, and Time Out, amongst many others. He lives outside Ottawa with his wife and two children.

Format: Paperback | Pages: 256 | Publication Date: 2022-01-08