The Leavers: Winner of the PEN/Bellweather Prize for Fiction - Softcover

Ko, Lisa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0349700524 ISBN 13: 9780349700526

Publisher: Dialogue Books, 2018

Synopsis

** Winner of the 2016 PEN/BELLWETHER PRIZE, the 2017 ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE IN ADULT FICTION and the 2018 NEW YORK CITY HORNBLOWER AWARD FOR FIRST BOOK | Finalist for the 2018 PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD, the 2017 BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE and the 2017 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD **

'Sensational' Guardian

'Utterly immersive' Daily Mail

'There was a time I would have called Lisa Ko's novel beautifully written, ambitious and moving, and all of that is true, but it's more than that now: if you want to understand a forgotten and essential part of the world we live in, The Leavers is required reading' Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth

One morning, Deming Guo's mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her.

With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson.

But far from all he's ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents' desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.

Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It's a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.

'As relevant as ever as the future of immigrants in America hangs in the balance' TIME

'A rich, multifaceted portrait of displacement and the trauma of not belonging' Independent

'One of the most engaging, deeply probing, and beautiful books I have read this year' Laila Lalami, author of The Moor's Account

'Instantly compelling' Stylist

'A must-read' Marie Claire

Named a Best Book of 2017 by OPRAH, NPR, BUZZFEED and HUFFINGTON POST

About this title

About the Author

Lisa Ko is the author of The Leavers, which was a 2017 National Book Award for Fiction finalist, won the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, and was a finalist for the 2018 PEN/Hemingway Award. The Leavers was a national best seller and was named a 'best book of the year' by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, The Los Angeles Times, and others. Ko's short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories and her essays and nonfiction have been published in The New York Times, The Believer, and elsewhere.

From the Back Cover

Winner of the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction

One morning, Deming Guo's mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon - and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he's ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents' desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.

Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It's a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dialogue Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0349700524
• ISBN 13: 9780349700526
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416