Number One Chinese Restaurant - Softcover

Li, Lillian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 191159009X ISBN 13: 9781911590095

Publisher: ONE, 2019

Synopsis

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

Mixing business and family is a recipe for disaster

'A warm, moving multi-generational family saga, with a blackly comic streak that will make you snort your tea' Sam Baker, The Pool Bedtime Book Club

The popular Beijing Duck House has been serving devoted regulars for decades. Yet behind the staff's professional smiles simmer tensions, heartaches and grudges from years of bustling restaurant life.

When disaster strikes, two of the younger generation find themselves in a dangerous game that means tragedy for the Duck House. And soon, their families are forced to finally confront the conflicts and loyalties playing out beneath the red and gold lanterns.

About this title

Review

'Li's impressive debut is a lot of things: a thoughtful critique of gentrification from the perspective of the business owners being pushed out, a multigenerational immigration story, an insider look at the often gruelling life of the career server or line cook, a romance, a coming-of-age (at any age). Most significantly, it is a joy to read - I couldn't get enough' -- Buzzfeed

'Though lightened with comedic moments, the quiet tragedy of familial resentment lies at the heart of the story. A smart combination of Chinese American life, service industry travails and the ups and downs of belonging to a family, Number One Chinese Restaurant will make great discussion fare for book clubs' -- Shelf Awareness (starred review)

'Action-packed... a compelling family story about love, work and what it means to serve' -- USA Today

'So expertly does first-time novelist Lillian Li conjure the Beijing Duck House, a gaudy, tatterdemalion restaurant in Rockville, Md., that readers of Number One Chinese Restaurant can almost taste its signature dish and feel the heat of its woks... By turns darkly funny and heartbreaking' -- Wall Street Journal

'A singular achievement, by turns insightful, tragic, and hilarious. The Beijing Duck House, the family-owned restaurant at the center of this novel, might be a made-up place, but the people who keep it going are entirely and splendidly alive' -- R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries

'A deliciously comic debut novel about secrets, scandal, and the patriotism at the heart of the hustle' -- O, The Oprah Magazine, Top Books of the Summer

'Li humanizes cruelty. Where another would look away, she dives under a microscope, determined to see it clearly. The result is a wonderfully honest portrait of what it takes to make it in America' -- Village Voice

'An enthralling plot line reminiscent of a prime time drama that you can't stop watching... we couldn't put it down' -- Bon Appétit

'With its deliciously depicted restaurant setting and knowing perspective on Chinese-American culture, this novel is two-thirds cultural comedy. The other third is something deeper and sadder. A writer to watch' -- Kirkus Reviews

'Li vividly depicts the lives of her characters... a memorable debut' -- Publishers Weekly

'Lillian Li is a brilliant young writer and someone to watch. Her work understands human secrets generally as well as secret places both in the world and in the mind; her narratives are complex, mysterious, moving, and surprising' -- Lorrie Moore

'A darkly comic novel about complicated families - those created by blood and those forged through circumstance. With wit and heart, Li explores a Chinese-American community torn between ambition and loyalty as each character strives for a world bigger than the restaurant that has bound them together. An exciting debut' -- Brit Bennett

'Full of impassioned and ever-yearning characters, the prose sparkles, too... announcing a striking new literary talent' -- Chang-rae Lee

'Li's talent for human tragicomedy grows more evident by the page... Li generously realizes the dreams, the regrets, and the resilience of a family holding on to its American dream, hoping it doesn't slip away' -- Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Lillian Li is from the D.C. metro area and lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her work has appeared in Granta, Guernica, Bon Appetit, and Jezebel. Number One Chinese Restaurant is her first novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: ONE
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 191159009X
• ISBN 13: 9781911590095
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336