Coming October 19th!
BAD BAD GIRL is a genre-bending novel spanning continents, generations, and cultures, following a rebellious mother and a rebellious daughter jousting across decades of curiosity and ambition, elation and disappointment, intimacy and misunderstanding.
And don’t miss Gish’s last book, the critically acclaimed short collection Thank You, Mr. Nixon.
The #1 recommendation by Oprah Daily for AAPI Heritage Month
In her recent short-story collection, Thank You, Mr. Nixon, Jen trains her trademark smart humor on a series of powerful tales that pack a wallop. Jen has a straightforward, easy-reading style that at first obscures the complexity of her subjects—from a letter penned from heaven by a Chinese girl to Richard Nixon (in hell), to a hilarious and heart-rending take on a mixed-race family bringing their matriarch to China on a “homeland” trip.
“The collection as a whole is meant to be read carefully (or maybe twice); once you sink into the shiny, bright layers, you’ll find a darker, interconnected network of profound meaning underneath.” - Marie Myung-Ok Lee
“[This is] an art beyond art. It is life itself.” - Cynthia Ozick
“Be prepared to be awed and enthralled by one of our best writers!” - Yiyun Li
“[Jen] creates a panoramic universe of deftly sketched tales both comic and tragic. Her prose sparkles with clarity and moves with deceptive simplicity towards profound conclusions. This is a collection to treasure…An authorial tour-de-force.” - Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe
“Award-winning author Gish Jen’s latest collection opens with a Chinese saying: “A long journey begins with a step.” Readers could add, gratefully, “And ends with a story.”. . . In this collection, Jen stares down history with a discerning eye, cracking wit and well-tuned words.” - Erin Douglass, Christian Science Monitor
“A thrilling and eye-opening ride.” - Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times
"A jewel box of creativity and a joy to uncover. . .Across eleven synergistic stories about interconnected families, Jen creates a sort of episodic epic spanning fifty years. . .Surely everyone — us and them, whoever they are — would benefit if together we read what Jen has to say." - Cory Oldweiler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Jen distills five decades of cultural collision, confusion, and collaboration between the U.S. and China into eleven gorgeously comedic and heartbreaking stories . . . For all the pain and poignancy, Jen is wryly hilarious, her plots spring-loaded, her dialogue ricocheting and spiked with contrasts in languages and customs . . ..” - Starred Review, Booklist
“Political and economic relations between China and the US are major news, but Jen takes it to the micro level in her vibrant short stories about character who are varying degrees of Chinese and American… Jen’s crisp prose, wonderful eye for detail, and wry humor make them a joy to read, and there is wisdom here, too.” - Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews