Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award A Washington Post Notable Book One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Ann Patchett on PBS NewsHour, Minnesota Public Radio, PopSugar, Maris Kreizman, The Morning NewsWinner of Ploughshares’ John C. Zacharis AwardWinner of a Whiting AwardA Belletrist Amuse BookAt first glance, the quirky, overworked narrator of Weike Wang’s debut novel seems … Award
A Belletrist Amuse Book
At first glance, the quirky, overworked narrator of Weike Wang’s debut novel seems to be on the cusp of a perfect life: she is studying for a prestigious PhD in chemistry that will make her Chinese parents proud (or at least satisfied), and her successful, supportive boyfriend has just proposed to her. But instead of feeling hopeful, she is wracked with ambivalence: the long, demanding hours at the lab have created an exquisite pressure cooker, and she doesn’t know how to answer the marriage question. When it all becomes too much and her life plan veers off course, she finds herself on a new path of discoveries about everything she thought she knew. Smart, moving, and always funny, this unique coming-of-age story is certain to evoke a winning reaction.
more
A very quick read, thanks to the simple narrative structure and near Hemingway-esque voice. The narrator, a 20-something chemistry Ph.D student, begins to question her career path and her romantic relationship with fellow chemist Eric, as she struggles to find success in the lab. Through short anecdotes and memories of her hard-driving Chinese immigrant parents, moments of escape and comfort with The Best Friend who is dealing with her own life issues in New York, sessions with her therapist, and walks with The Dog, we see extreme anxiety, fear, self-doubt, and yet, humor through the sadness. The punctuated narration gets a bit repetitive and tiresome later in the book, but it’s interesting to note how the characters who are named are the boyfriend and the mother. The absolutely scientific/logical approach to life is hard for me to imagine as an English major, but it makes for an interesting perspective.
Great read.
different, but entertaining
Unique style of writing and interesting character. Really enjoyed
A wonderful novel about struggles to find oneself as told through the viewpoint of a young woman chemistry Ph.D. student of Asian-American background. The book is funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, with no false steps or forced emotions. Having been through chemistry graduate school myself, many years ago, I can testify to the accuracy of the details of much of the book from a graduate student’s perspective. I think that it is extremely hard for young people to figure out “who they are,” and this book captures the struggle for identity and purpose without resort to cliche’. The book is an excellent read for people of all genders, ages (late teens and up), and backgrounds, and, as a 60 year-old chemistry professor with interests in the arts, music, and humanities, I strongly recommend it.
The story was original and well written.
Interesting insight into the female Asian psyche.
A lovely, funny, sad and original novel. Short–just the right length for what it is. A small additional bonus: insight into Chinese (or at least Chinese-American) culture. But that’s a small thing compared to the delight this novel gave me.
This book was ok. I liked the writing as it was querky and fun. I am not sure exactly where the book was going. The author shed light on immigrates to the US from China and how the first generation feels thorn between parents culture and the US Culture. I think it is good where people are accepted and a lesson for all of us the accept people for who they are, as their life experiences make them a unique individual.
I tried so hard to like this book because I am a nurse and science enthusiast, but I found it a struggle to complete the novel. The main character was unlikable to me and I did not agree with the novel’s format. It was as though the character was simply recording her thoughts in her journal. I was supremely disappointed in the lackluster ending. It was not an enjoyable read for me in any way; on the whole, the story is depressing. Instructors may want to include these readings into a philosophy class when they teach stoicism, but if you are looking at a novel to read for pleasure, I would give this one a pass.
Interesting story that takes a while to figure out since you don’t know who the characters are at first, or even if the protagonist is male or female. You finally get that sorted out, and find out that she and her boyfriend are both graduate students in chemistry in Boston and he wants to marry her, but she’s Chinese and he’s a redhead and she’s afraid if they had children the kids would only get her black hair, so she keeps putting off answering his proposals. Her best friend is also Chinese, an MD in NYC, who is having a baby, so they keep seeing each other. The protagonist, who never gives her name, has a nervous breakdown, but life goes on, as her boyfriend completes his PhD and goes to his new job. You can learn a lot about chemistry and physics along the way.