The Year She Left Us

A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Literary, Contemporary Women
Cover of the book The Year She Left Us by Kathryn Ma, Harper
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kathryn Ma ISBN: 9780062273369
Publisher: Harper Publication: May 13, 2014
Imprint: Harper Language: English
Author: Kathryn Ma
ISBN: 9780062273369
Publisher: Harper
Publication: May 13, 2014
Imprint: Harper
Language: English

From the winner of the 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Prize—comes the extraordinary, unexpected debut tale of three generations of Chinese-American women in a San Francisco family who must confront their past and carve out a future.

The Kong women are in crisis. A disastrous trip to visit her "home" orphanage in China has plunged eighteen-year-old Ari into a self-destructive spiral. Her adoptive mother, Charlie, a lawyer with a great heart, is desperate to keep her daughter safe. Meanwhile, Charlie must endure the prickly scrutiny of her beautiful, Bryn Mawr educated mother, Gran—who, as the daughter of a cultured Chinese doctor, came to America to survive Mao's Revolution—and her sister, Les, a brilliant judge with a penchant to rule over everyone's lives.

As they cope with Ari's journey of discovery and its aftermath, the Kong women will come face to face with the truths of their lives—four powerful intertwining stories of accomplishment, tenacity, secrets, loneliness, and love. Beautifully illuminating the bonds of family and blood, The Year She Left Us explores the promise and pain of adoption, the price of assimilation and achievement, the debt we owe to others, and what we owe ourselves.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From the winner of the 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Prize—comes the extraordinary, unexpected debut tale of three generations of Chinese-American women in a San Francisco family who must confront their past and carve out a future.

The Kong women are in crisis. A disastrous trip to visit her "home" orphanage in China has plunged eighteen-year-old Ari into a self-destructive spiral. Her adoptive mother, Charlie, a lawyer with a great heart, is desperate to keep her daughter safe. Meanwhile, Charlie must endure the prickly scrutiny of her beautiful, Bryn Mawr educated mother, Gran—who, as the daughter of a cultured Chinese doctor, came to America to survive Mao's Revolution—and her sister, Les, a brilliant judge with a penchant to rule over everyone's lives.

As they cope with Ari's journey of discovery and its aftermath, the Kong women will come face to face with the truths of their lives—four powerful intertwining stories of accomplishment, tenacity, secrets, loneliness, and love. Beautifully illuminating the bonds of family and blood, The Year She Left Us explores the promise and pain of adoption, the price of assimilation and achievement, the debt we owe to others, and what we owe ourselves.

More books from Harper

Cover of the book Once Upon a Reef by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Creme Brulee Murder by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Empire of Things by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book City of Nets by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Axel by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book In Search of Saints by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Cooking with My Sisters by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Stonewalled by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book The Field of Vision by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Earth to Hell by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book The Opposite of Spoiled by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Where the Birds Never Sing by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Diamond Head by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book The Emerald Diamond by Kathryn Ma
Cover of the book Happily Never After by Kathryn Ma
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy