Excerpt from The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

“How come you stopped?” he murmured.

“I can’t run anymore.”

“Oh.” He was losing consciousness, the color draining from his face. “Will you come back for me?”

June nodded.

“You promise?”

She nodded again.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”

She let go his still-warm hand, kissed his still-warm face. She stayed with him as long as she could. But when the last car of the train passed her she rose to her feet and steadied herself. And then she ran for her life.

Excerpted from The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee. Copyright © 2010 by Chang-rae Lee. Excerpted by permission of Riverhead Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.