Elysha Chang’s debut novel A Quitter’s Paradise is an interesting story about a Chinese-American woman named Eleanor who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and self-reflection after her mother dies.

At the priest’s directive, father and son were ultimately divided again, and the entire experience left Lito scarred. Thank you NetGalley and Zando Projects, SJP Lit for accepting my request to read and review A Quitters Paradise. At once disarmingly provocative and compulsively readable, A Quitter's Paradise is an unexpectedly funny study of the beauty and contradictions of grief, family bonds, and self-knowledge, exploring the ways we unwittingly guard the secrets of our loved ones, even from ourselves.Our main character is quite messy and I’m so in support of messy and nuanced Asian American protagonists. The author uses the same things I've seen in other books -- the children assume their family debt, parents pressure them to pay as well show respect with dignity while paying these bills; don't complain or bring shame -- not further shame, just shame to the family. I think the closest comparison you could compare this book to is Disorientation, which is about another PhD student trying to uncover a secret about a Chinese poet she’s studying. Growing up, Eleanor learned to be quiet and obedient, immersing herself in schoolwork and reading (similar to how the ancient scholars immersed themselves in their studies) — not because she particularly enjoyed either activity, but because that was the only way she could be left alone.

I would recommend checking it out at least once if you’re interested in any of the themes I’ve mentioned during this review, or if the synopsis ends up vibing with you in a way that resonates.It is this personality trait of Eleanor’s that shapes much of the story in the present timeline, which ends up affecting her relationships with everyone around her. Overall I enjoyed this book, I just wished the timeline was a bit more defined or linear (personal preference, of course). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review! She ends up pregnant after quitting the program, but their marriage seems to be rocky from the fact he simply gets everything and she struggles. And no one gets that more than these women — you’ll root for them as they reclaim their voices (even if you’re cringing just a little bit).

Meanwhile, glimpses of Eleanor’s childhood and family history in Taiwan unfurl, revealing long-held secrets, and Eleanor starts to realize that she will never be able to escape her grief, or her family, despite her wildest attempts. A Quitter's Paradise, debut novel of Elysha Chang, follows a young woman's journey to make sense of herself, to find who she is and what she wants, and to process the grief she holds inside her heart after the death of her mother. As Eleanor’s avoidance of her feelings results in a series of outrageous—often hilarious—choices, her actions begin to threaten all she holds most dear.Eleanor is prone to avoiding her feelings and often goes to great lengths to make herself small and invisible — a “skill” she cultivated as a child growing up in a household that was often devoid of warmth and tenderness. There's a sense of desperation in this book, to have something solely your own, when it seems like at every turn life makes a grab for something. Eleanor Liu is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants who secretly married her boyfriend of eight months. I think it was a pretty solid book, and it might be a debut (Googling future me verified this: it is a debut book). Or do we love by trying, by shaping and forming, conforming, and reforming, failing and trying again?

Rather than confront her grief and the ways she’s complicated her own life, she allows her actions to put her job and relationship in jeopardy. The writing in this one is fairly accessible; I finished the book over the course of two days while I was in vacation in California. But, bored and unfulfilled both matrimonially and professionally, Eleanor soon has an affair with a colleague.

While the story comes down clearly on the side of all-encompassing love, Mallery has struck a careful balance: There is just enough sex to be spicy, just enough swearing to be naughty, and just enough heartbreak to avoid being cloying. In A Quitter's Paradise, the darkly humorous debut by bold, new voice Elysha Chang, a young woman does everything she can to ignore her mother's death, even as unearthed family secrets become increasingly inextricable from her own. I’m pretty sure Chang and I had the same mom growing up, because she captures Eleanor’s mom with such emotional precision that I gasped several times.