Beginning with a cheery letter penned by a Chinese girl in heaven to “poor Mr. Nixon” in hell, Gish Jen embarks on a fictional journey through U.S.-China relations, capturing the excitement of a world on the brink of tectonic change.

Opal Chen reunites with her Chinese sisters after forty years; Lulu Koo wonders why Americans “like to walk around in the woods with the mosquitoes”; and Betty Koo, brought up on “no politics, just make money,” embraces new truths in the stunning final story, “Detective Dog.”

With their profound compassion and equally profound humor, these eleven linked stories trace the intimate ways in which humans make and are made by history, capturing an extraordinary era in an extraordinary way.

“It is hard to do justice to this wonderful collection of intricately inked stories.” - Ha Jin

“Fiercely funny and unrelentingly honest.” - Yiyun Li

“Witty, engaging and profound.” - Claire Messud

“An absolute delight.” - Jean Kwok

“I loved Thank You, Mr. Nixon so much that I find myself wishing for two things. One, that I could have the space in a review to praise it to the skies and back again. Two, that I could meet Gish Jen and talk to her into the wee hours about how she accomplished such a fantastic work.” - Lisa See

“Brilliant. . . one of the best books of Jen's remarkable career.” - NPR

“Marvelous. On the surface her storytelling seems simple and direct, but the closer you look the more layered and complex it becomes.” - New York Times

“Her command of detail makes Thank You, Mr. Nixon authentic and engrossing; her vision makes it unique and vital.” - Publishers Weekly

“For all the pain and poignancy, Jen is wryly hilarious, her plots spring-loaded, her dialogue ricocheting and spiked …” - Booklist

"A jewel box of creativity." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

“An authorial tour-de-force.” - Boston Globe

“My kingdom for a writer as savvy, empathic, and hilarious as Gish Jen.” - Oprah Daily