10/10/2022
Ma (The Year She Left Us) returns with the vibrant story of a Chinese immigrant living in present-day San Francisco. Zheng Xue Li, known as Shelley, is 18 when his father sends him to study in the U.S.—as part of his deceased mother’s dream for him—and live with his rich uncle, Ted, whose family owns a store. Shelley hopes a new life in Ted’s household will provide the stability for him to pursue his dreams of becoming a poet and the status to help him win back his English ex-girlfriend, Lisbet, but his expectations are sunk upon arrival. Turns out Ted’s neither rich nor his uncle (he’s a second cousin), and Shelley can only stay for two weeks. Soon Shelley’s left to juggle school, a restaurant job, and life in a crowded rooming house—with a little help from the “Chinese groove,” or the unspoken connection among fellow Chinese immigrants. Though the episodic plot gets a bit unwieldy with its many side characters and hurdles—a cousin coming to collect a debt, an ever elusive Lisbet—Ma does a good job conveying the bonds of Shelley’s community and family. This immersive story is worth a look. Agent: Stacy Testa, Writers House. (Jan.)
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
The Washington Post, A Best Book of the Year
An Amazon Editors' Pick
People, A Best Book of the Year
"Ma’s iteration of the young migrant story is imbued with inherent optimism. Shelley’s buoyancy is frustratingly naïve, and often completely foolish if you have any understanding of how brutal living in America actually is, but you root for Shelley in part because Shelley is rooting for Shelley. Ma finds wry humor in Shelley getting to know the mores of his new country (Ted biking to work seemed to be particularly surprising to him), but his belief in his own success is unwavering . . . By the end, he does indeed come out on top, even if it’s in ways neither he nor the reader could have predicted." —Scaachi Koul, The New York Times Book Review
"Ma’s uplifting tale of the good-hearted dreamer will appeal to those wanting to boost their spirits." —Becky Meloan, The Washington Post
"Ma brings compassion and humor to her latest novel as she paints an immersive story about a Chinese immigrant named Shelley who comes to America with very high hopes for a new life." —Jordan Snowden, The Seattle Times
"The Chinese Groove by Kathryn Ma is a funny and insightful novel, a satisfying immigration story told by an 18-year-old narrator, Zheng Xue Li, from Yunnan province, China. We can’t help but love the determined and steadfast young man even as we laugh and wince and worry about him . . . Shelley’s relentlessly optimistic voice and his impressions of the United States bump up against what we readers 'know' and create a wonderful tension that keeps us turning the pages. Especially when he first arrives in the U.S., his observations are so fresh and funny, they set a humorously poignant tone and suggest that our hero will survive even the most harrowing aspects of his experience . . . Ma plays brilliantly with stereotypes without stereotyping. She deftly handles a multitude of plot threads and conflicts among Shelley’s web of connections in the U.S. and China as he carries on, almost in spite of himself. She is a master of voice . . . The Chinese Groove is certainly a contender for the funniest book about survival that you’ll ever read." —Connie Biewald, San Francisco Chronicle
"The Chinese Groove is satisfyingly Dickensian in its plot twists and intriguing characters . . . [A] thoughtfully crafted bildungsroman full of twists and turns . . . Readers will root for [Shelley] as he finds his own version of the American Dream—even if it looks different than expected." —Serena Puang, The Boston Globe
"The struggles between belonging and liminality, and between delusion and hope, are the beating heart of Ma’s softly satirical new novel . . . But through the hardships and hustle, Shelley gets to know his adopted city while discovering the inner resources he needs to fight for himself and others—and to finally find his people. His optimism and savvy are contagious." —Carole V. Bell, The Atlantic
"A buoyant social satire." —Emma Alpern, New York magazine
"This modern coming-of-age tale brims with heart, ambition, drama, and a protagonist whose naïveté makes him splendidly endearing. Ma thoughtfully navigates family dynamics and first love. It's guaranteed to have you and the aunties laughing and crying along." —People
"Ma’s novel is uplifting and moving as it follows Shelley on his American dream." —Alta
"Through witty satire and sweet storytelling, Kathryn Ma offers readers a fresh perspective on immigration, family, expectations and idealism." —Karla Strand, Ms.
"A literary novel with a subtly satirical and critical edge." —Oprah Daily, A Most Anticipated Title
"At once a harrowing immigrant tale and a humorous romp through cultural misunderstandings, The Chinese Groove explores the everyday negotiations of romance and family ties, as well as the power of belief that helps us make our way through the world without breaking." —Los Angeles Review of Books
"Buoyant and heartfelt . . . Ma has a gift for crafting lovable characters in challenging situations, and she places them in a vibrant Northern California setting. The Chinese Groove is a refreshing story of unsinkable perseverance and familial devotion, sure to unlock new stores of optimism for any reader." —Dave Wheeler, Shelf Awareness
"Balancing humor and poignancy with seemingly effortless ease, Ma is a magnificent storyteller . . . Shelley’s teenage naivete will entertain, while his tenacity and loyalty will surely inspire." —Booklist (starred review)
"This rollicking contemporary picaresque about a young Chinese man’s adventures in 2015 America offers a fresh take on the Chinese immigrant experience while confronting universal issues surrounding family, grief, and how to define success . . . Ma knows how to twist a plot in unexpected, deeply satisfying directions by writing with compassion, humor, and insight." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Ma returns with the vibrant story of a Chinese immigrant living in present-day San Francisco . . . Ma does a good job conveying the bonds of Shelley’s community and family. This immersive story is worth a look." —Publishers Weekly
"Kathryn Ma's The Chinese Groove is terrific in every way: smart, warm, witty, keenly observed, and best of all, refreshing, as she meditates on love, hope, and what it means to be a family." —Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar and We Are Each Other's Harvest
"By turns picaresque and poignant, Kathryn Ma's The Chinese Groove is an utterly original exploration of the Chinese diaspora, pondering the ancestral ties that span between China and San Francisco. Shelley is a poet and would-be striver with an indelible voice. A marvel." —Vanessa Hua, author of Forbidden City
"Tender in all of the ways that matter, The Chinese Groove peels back our American absurdities and illustrates that love, more than anything, is powerful enough to sustain us through darkness and disaster. Kathryn Ma’s latest work is brimming with characters whose undeniable complexity, authenticity, and hilarity will make you utter the age-old lie of 'just one more page.' And the twists! Don’t get me started. A wondrous novel where nothing, and no one, is as it seems." —Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck
★ 2022-10-26
This rollicking contemporary picaresque about a young Chinese man’s adventures in 2015 America offers a fresh take on the Chinese immigrant experience while confronting universal issues surrounding family, grief, and how to define success.
Eighteen-year-old narrator Zheng Xue Li, nicknamed Shelley for the poet, is happy with his modest life in Yunnan Province. His English teacher, Miss Chipping-Highworth from Sussex, considers him her star pupil, and he has recently begun a romance with her niece, who's studying in China to avoid family problems. But years ago, Shelley’s widowed, long-suffering father promised his dying wife he’d save their son from their impoverished life as members of a despised branch of the Zheng family; so he has borrowed money to pay Shelley’s way to San Francisco. Shelley arrives with a student visa and three goals: Family, Love, Fortune. His eventful quest follows the path of Western literary heroes like Tom Jones and Huck Finn but also echoes the poor fisherman’s adventures in Shelley’s favorite Chinese tale, shared in full with the reader. Author Ma allows Shelley a comic, mildly satiric tone as he observes American culture with the sharp insights of an outsider who assumes everyone dissembles. Of course, nothing goes as Shelley planned. He quickly discovers the wealthy relatives he expected to pave his way are neither wealthy nor traditionally Chinese. U.S.–born cousin Ted Cheng (Americanized from Zheng), a journalist, and his Jewish wife, Aviva, introduce Shelley to a community that eschews boundaries of race, religion, and sexuality. Of deeper import, they have suffered a shocking tragedy that keeps them from fully embracing Shelley and that undercuts the novel’s surface lightheartedness. While ever optimistic Shelley is more sophisticated than Americans realize, his evolving relationships with Aviva, Ted, and Ted’s estranged father, Henry, force him to reassess his three stated goals as well as his unresolved relationship with his own father.
Ma knows how to twist a plot in unexpected, deeply satisfying directions by writing with compassion, humor, and insight.
Narrator James Chen enhances the humor and tenderness of this character-driven literary story. Eighteen-year-old Zheng Xue Li, known as Shelley, is sent from China to the U.S. to live with his supposedly rich uncle, Ted. Upon arriving in San Francisco, Shelley discovers that Ted is actually a poor cousin whom he can stay with for only two weeks. Shelley tackles school, work, and housing challenges with unrelenting optimism and faith in the Chinese groove--an unspoken commitment among compatriots to take care of one another. Chen portrays Shelley with a distinct voice, accented by his native Chinese heritage and infused with a satirical tone. Though some subplots are a bit far-fetched, Chen's embodiment of Shelley's buoyancy and naïveté compels listeners to keep rooting for him. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Narrator James Chen enhances the humor and tenderness of this character-driven literary story. Eighteen-year-old Zheng Xue Li, known as Shelley, is sent from China to the U.S. to live with his supposedly rich uncle, Ted. Upon arriving in San Francisco, Shelley discovers that Ted is actually a poor cousin whom he can stay with for only two weeks. Shelley tackles school, work, and housing challenges with unrelenting optimism and faith in the Chinese groove--an unspoken commitment among compatriots to take care of one another. Chen portrays Shelley with a distinct voice, accented by his native Chinese heritage and infused with a satirical tone. Though some subplots are a bit far-fetched, Chen's embodiment of Shelley's buoyancy and naïveté compels listeners to keep rooting for him. V.T.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
