Wang’s short novel is about growing up and finding your own way. It’s funny and warm and well performed by Julia Whelan. The unnamed narrator is a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry who is realizing that maybe she’s not all that into chemistry. She has a patient boyfriend, a best friend, and immigrant Chinese parents who war at marriage and push her hard to greater achievements. Whelan’s tone is perfect. She generally plays it straight, an interested observer of the unnamed character's own life. By not overdramatizing the serious parts of the book, or giddying up the humor, Whelan lets both stand on their own, which they are strong enough to do. G.S.D. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Whether you’re headed back to school this fall or the backpack-clad commercials are making you nostalgic, September is the perfect time to sink into a campus novel. Whether you look back fondly on library all-nighters or you know you’d never go back, we’ve rounded up a list of 10 books that capture the messiness of […]
We’re a month away from Poured Over’s third anniversary, and we’re truly excited by the writers who’ve joined us on the show so far and we hope you’ll take a listen to the shows you might have missed, here, on your favorite podcast app or B&N”s YouTube channel. New episodes of Poured Over land Tuesdays […]
“Loneliness is such a universal experience for so many of us — and I do hope that the book is a balm for that and helps make readers feel less alone…” Gina Chung’s debut novel Sea Change explores family ties, grief and growing up through a complicated protagonist that readers will love to root for […]
“I really wrote it for me, I didn’t think anything would come about—I wanted something that could bring me a bit of joy, where Asian American characters could live their lives and do something as fun and ridiculous as robbing art museums across the world.” Grace D. Li loves a caper flick, and now she’s […]
“…So much of American media is, As long as we have each other, it doesn’t matter what happens, we’re going to be fine. I don’t always think that’s true. Circumstances can really tear families apart. But, you know, I’m not going to write Succession.” Weike Wang follows up her acclaimed debut novel, Chemistry, with the […]