In this novel by Elysha Chang, a young woman does everything she can to avoid the reality of her mother’s recent death and family’s estrangement, even as it becomes increasingly clear that her own story is inextricable from theirs. Portraying an avoidant character is fine, but Eleanor is avoidant in a pretty one-note, one-dimensional way throughout the entire novel, which made for a dull reading experience. I’m excited and honored to publish A Quitter’s Paradise, the debut novel by standout literary talent Elysha Chang.

The narration is intimate, poignant, it's almost like reading someone's deepest thoughts: truly beautiful. On the one hand, I definitely resonated with Eleanor as a child, growing up in an immigrant household and the struggles that came with it, as well as the tenuous relationship with her mother that shaped who she became as an adult — much of it was familiar to me, as I had experienced similar struggles in my own life. On one hand, I can see the merits of A Quitter’s Paradise’s concept: a Chinese American woman struggling to cope with the grief over her mother’s recent death as well as estrangement from her other family members. Instead we get a whole book of Eleanor’s avoidance behaviors with no hope for improvement, and reading it was a bleak and unenjoyable experience.

Eleanor Liu is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants who secretly married her boyfriend of eight months. Her unique story intertwines with others of Chinese immigrants looking for a chance in America, the struggles they had to face during their lives and their choices. However, I think there are readers who will still enjoy "A Quitter's Paradise", since the writing flows well and is very accessible. Many described this book "hilarious": I don't agree with this, the main character is quite unique and quirky at times, but I would never say that she is funny or the book hilarious. Women make choices to get themselves ahead by forging practical relationships and marrying, only to slowly be out manuevered and forced into a corner to forfeit their own work, motivations.

A QUITTER'S PARADISE is mostly an uneventful novel, with all the messiness and complication of family dynamics.asks] what it means for a first-generation daughter to stop striving, to want a meaningful life on different terms. The writing was very good however, and I would definitely read another book by this author with a more linear storyline. But there are larger themes of forgiveness running throughout the book, primarily regarding Lito’s father and the priest; Lito and the priest; Lito and his father; Lito’s son and his father.

Yet readers also see the yearning for love and wells of compassion hidden beneath his self-protective exterior. A graduate of Columbia’s MFA Program, she has received fellowships from the Center for Fiction and Kundiman. In this story, Eleanor is trying to figure out her life with all the trappings (customs/traditions) in the United States. 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. Inspired by David Copperfield, Kingsolver crafts a 21st-century coming-of-age story set in America’s hard-pressed rural South.

In the present timeline however, I couldn’t relate much to Eleanor and the outlandish decisions she made, many of which I thought were a bit over the top — so much so that I actually found her annoying, especially near the end of the story. Summer’s here, the days are longer, and we’re delivering lots of Poured Over Double Shot episodes to help you plan your summer reading, starting with Jonathan Eig and Héctor Tobar on June 1st. At the same time, she is conducting illegal experiments with mice from the lab, and if she gets caught, it could mean the end for her husband along with her. In the months following her mother’s death, Eleanor makes increasingly risky and bizarre choices, such as spending unsanctioned time with a primate from the lab, before decamping for her childhood home in New Jersey, where she goes through Rita’s belongings and begins to grasp a greater sense of her life.

In terms of story arc, the first two-thirds or so was quite strong and kept me engaged, but then the last third of the story got a bit muddled and abstract, to the point that, in the end, I felt lost and was no longer sure I knew where the author was trying to go with the story. Let me start by saying that this book is so beautifully written and charming, that I'm already a fan of Elysha Chang.Eleanor, however, is comfortable and thinks to herself, “Yes, I have had to face the fact that I quit. 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.