Divine Endurance

Orphaned princess Chosen Among the BeautifulCho, for shorthas grown up in isolation, tended by machines, with only the cat Divine Endurance as a companion. When an earthquake wrecks the palace, the two leave in search of Cho's long-lost brother. What they find beyond the desert is a populous, contentious, future Southeast Asia under the thumb of the distant Rulers. Further divisions among princes, clans, gangsters and revolutionaries keep the pot astir. Beyond normal society, there are also the outcasts, among them the independent, the eccentric and barren women. Divine Endurance seeks the Rulers but Cho moves in the other direction, falling in love with Derveet, the rebel leader. Not entirely of a piece, this is still an agreeably offbeat combination of fairy tale, travelogue and political novel. (March 27)