The book has been selected as a "Discover Great New Writers" pick for Barnes and Noble and named one of hte "Books We Can't Wait to Read This Summer" by Entertainment Weekly. Join her this Friday, May 14 at the Asian American Writers' Workshop. Here are some more details:
Jean Kwok: Girl in TranslationI'm told that Jean Kwok is poised to become one of the first debut Asian American novelists in recent memory to crack the bestseller list. For more information about the event, go to the AAWW website here, and the Facebook event page here. For more on Jean Kwok, visit her blog here.
Friday, May 14, 2010
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Asian American Writers' Workshop
110-112 West 27th Street, 6th Floor (bet. 6th and 7th Ave)
New York, NY
Jean Kwok's Girl in Translation is an archetypal immigrant success story: a mother and daughter come to the United States and need to start their lives all over again in a Chinatown sweatshop. This special mother-and-daughter story vividly captures what it's like to grow up as an immigrant between languages and between cultures: the conflicts between Chinese and American identity, practical poverty and intellectual richness, language and miscommunication, and family responsibility and following one's own heart. The book is unique in its deft portrayal of Chinese American factory life with both heartbreak and a wry humor, and the way it illuminates what it means for all of us to be American. As Min Jin Lee, author of the bestselling Free Food for Millionaires, writes, "The possibility of Kimberly Chang's extraordinary struggle and achievement is what makes America a great nation—generous, forgiving and full of hope. Kwok perfectly captures the voice and perspective of a young immigrant, and the result is a powerful work about love, sacrifice and faith."
Treat yourself to a special night with a heart-breaking story of an immigrant girl and her mother—a story that will draw you in with its warmth, humor and vitality. As The Believer editor Vendela Vida writes, "Girl in Translation took me completely by surprise: I started it at midnight, thinking I would read a few pages, and found myself, hours later, completely absorbed in the story... This is an incredibly impressive debut." Don't miss our special night featuring Girl in Translation, which has been selected as a "Discover Great New Writers" pick for Barnes and Noble and named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "Books We Can't Wait to Read This Summer."
Jean Kwok was born in Hong Kong. Although Girl in Translation is a work of fiction and not a memoir, Jean also moved to Near York as a young girl and worked in a sweatshop in Chinatown. Leaving this life behind, Jean attended Harvard and currently lives in the Netherlands, where she is finally able to write full-time.
