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A Quitter's Paradise

A Novel

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available
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. Eleanor is doing just fine. Yes, she's hiding things from her husband. Sure, she quit her PhD program and is now conducting unauthorized research on illegitimately procured mice. And, true, her mother is dead, and Eleanor has yet to go through her things. But what else is she supposed to do? What shape can grief take when you didn't understand the person you've lost? Resisting at every turn, Eleanor tumbles blindly down a path that will force her to confront her present. After a series of incidents—and some questionable choices—it becomes clear that no matter how hard Eleanor tries, she will never be able to escape her grief, or her family, despite her wildest attempts. But will she be brave enough to withstand the reckoning she's hurtling toward? At once disarmingly provocative and compulsively readable, A Quitter's Paradise interweaves Eleanor's story with her parents' in an unexpectedly funny study of the beauty and contradictions of family bonds and self-knowledge, exploring the ways we unwittingly guard the secrets of our loved ones, even from ourselves.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 17, 2023
      Chang debuts with the understated and quietly devastating story of a grieving 20-something woman. In 2013 New York City, Eleanor Liu is on track to fulfill her late mother Rita’s low expectations, having dropped out of a neuroscience graduate program to work in her classmate-turned-husband’s lab. But, bored and unfulfilled both matrimonially and professionally, Eleanor soon has an affair with a colleague. 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. Eleanor’s narration alternates with flashbacks to her childhood and adolescence—notably her relationship with her troubled older sister—and of her parents’ emigration from Taipei in the late 1970s. The somewhat pensive tone is broken up by moments of levity, but always returns to questions of family history and the impossibility of understanding someone else’s story when one’s own memories are so unreliable. Chang is off to a promising start.

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from October 1, 2023

      Chang debuts with a poignant coming-of-age tale revolving around Eleanor, who's overwhelmed by a whirlwind of emotions as she contends with a strained marriage, a failing career, and the loss of her mother. Eleanor's life is falling apart, despite outward appearances to the contrary. Trying to cope with her mother's death, she abandons her doctoral program and starts working as a lab tech for her husband. She is determined to avoid her feelings, but this approach leads her to make unexpectedly bold and often comical decisions. As the story unfolds, Chang provides glimpses into Eleanor's childhood, her parents' relationship, and her family history in Taiwan, all of which shed light on family secrets. Soon, Eleanor is forced to confront both her grief and the complexities of family dynamics. Chang's artfully subtle style, sprinkled with grim humor, allows listeners to draw their own conclusions about the difficulties of navigating the future while facing the weight of the past. Throughout the novel, Angela Lin's sublime narration captivates, skillfully conveying the work's thoughtful tone and expertly drawing listeners into Eleanor's world. VERDICT Chang's delicate writing, enhanced by Lin's expert narration, breathes life into Eleanor's character, allowing listeners to connect deeply with her journey of self-discovery and healing.--Jigisha Patel

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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