Book news, reviews and recommendations
Despite her extensive back catalogue which includes five works of fiction, I’d never read anything by Gish Jen. Her new, difficult-to-categorise book, Bad Bad Girl, is the story of her mother’s life in which Jen imagines conversations, seeking answers to questions her mother would never give. It’s a novelisation, leaning very much towards memoir but, […]
Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen: A novel with some truth in it Read More »
It was that cover that caught my eye on Twitter. Something about the title’s sharp angles. Then I saw it was billed as a campus satire so put up my hand. I’m the partner of an academic so find this niche genre very enjoyable. So often they’re written by authors getting something off their chest.
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou: A case of mistaken identity Read More »
Xuan Juliana Wang’s debut collection comes garlanded with praise from Lauren Groff, herself no slouch when it comes to crafting short stories. Wang explores second-generation immigrants through the lens of experience, having arrived in the States with her parents aged seven. Her collection comprises twelve lengthy stories divided into three sections: Family, Love, and Time
Home Remedies by Xuan Juliana Wang: Shifting cultures Read More »