pickJoan, the Chinese-American ICU doctor in her thirties, wonders if the quest for wellness is something like Loch Ness, "a seemingly placid lake with an unknowable monster hiding inside". That astute psychological insight also sums up this novel: an even-tempered narration by its introverted, thoughtful protagonist—probably seen as eccentric by others—that has so much more brewing underneath: identity, gender norms, race relations, work & leisure,
batsy & the most stirring aspect: the relationship to one's parents or the people who raised you. Just like in Chemistry, Wang manages to avoid falling into indulgent sentimentality, but still drops tender, heartbreaking truth bombs throughout about the fraught nature of attempting to know the people in your family as their own persons, & in relation to you. I appreciate her writing & style a lot & look forward to her future books with pleasure. 1y
batsy I keep thinking of it as a companion book to Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman & Mieko Kawakami's All the Lovers in the Night. The narrators are different in terms of social position, geographical location, & temperament, but it feels like these books are in conversation in terms of painting a portrait of a woman of a certain age, alone, secure in their independence & not in step with society's expectations. #spinterlit roundtable. #TOB2023 1y
kspenmoll Thank you for your in depth review. I will add this to my TBR. 1y
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Aimeesue Fabulous review! Thanks 1y
sarahbarnes Great review! This sounds very intriguing. 1y
Suet624 I had to screenshot your comments about other books this book reminds you of. For some reason I have neglected to read them and it‘s time I did. (edited) 1y
batsy @kspenmoll @Aimeesue Thank you for reading 💜 1y
batsy @sarahbarnes Thank you! I loved being in Joan's headspace. 1y
batsy @Suet624 It's neat when it feels like books talk to each other across differences! 🙂 1y
Leftcoastzen Love your review! I‘m glad there are books that represent women that “don‘t fit” expectations & norms.I loved![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png)
Convenience Store Woman 1y
Convenience Store WomanBarbaraBB How I can I resist this book after your review and the books you compare it to?! 1y
squirrelbrain Great review! This is on the #tob longlist but I‘ve been wanting to read it for a while. It‘s not that easy to get hold of in the UK though. 1y
jlhammar I really enjoyed Chemistry. Going to have to give this one a try sometime! 1y
batsy @Leftcoastzen Thank you! I just realised that Wang wrote an introduction for that gem of a novel on the woman who doesn't fit in, Villette, which is too perfect. And now I must have it 😆 (Modern Library Torchbearers edition). 1y
batsy @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @jlhammar Thank you! I hope it fulfills expectations when you get to it 🙂 1y
Leftcoastzen @batsy oh wow! Seems so right ! I loved Villette & me reading it was inspired by how much you liked it . I do remember looking up a lot of French phrases .😁 1y
CarolynM Great review, as always. I haven‘t been drawn to this, but you might have changed my mind🤔🙂 1y
batsy @Leftcoastzen Oh yes, the French phrases! 😆 1y
batsy @CarolynM Thank you! Not quite a plot-ty book but a thoughts-and-musings one, so whenever the mood strikes for something like that 🙂 1y
Cathythoughts Yes! Great review..and stacked ♥️ 1y
batsy @Cathythoughts Thank you! ❤️ 1y