Babylon, South Dakota

Lin (The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu) spins a beguiling tale of a secret U.S. military program and its strange effects on a family of Chinese immigrants. The time period isn’t specified, but the story appears to take place sometime during the Cold War. Saul Keng Hsiu, 37, and his 33-year-old wife, Mei Lee, have fled a famine in China with only some gold, chrysanthemum seeds, a suitcase, and an old leather knapsack of belongings. They settle on a prairie in South Dakota, where government officials visit the couple’s farm and offer to buy an acre of land from them. Saul and Mei agree, and the Air Force builds a nuclear missile silo on the property as part of a mysterious plan that Saul later learns is called Project Methuselah. The project causes strange things to happen: volcanic ash falls from the sky, Mei discovers that she can practice augury, their young daughter Mara learns she can communicate with farm animals, and the chrysanthemums they grow turn out to be hardy aphrodisiacs. Gradually, the novel takes on more speculative dimensions, as Saul learns Project Methuselah is actually an experimental nuclear weapon deterrent developed with intelligence stolen from the Chinese. The story can be tough to follow, but it’s packed with intriguing fabulist turns. This offbeat tale will stay with readers. Agent: Lisa Queen, Queen Literary. (May)