Set in modern Shanghai, a debut by a Chinese-American writer about a prodigal son whose unexpected return forces his newly wealthy family to confront painful secrets and unfulfilled promises.
After years of chasing the American dream, the Zhen family has moved back to China. Settling into a luxurious serviced apartment in Shanghai, Wei, Lina, and their daughter, Karen, join an elite community of Chinese-born, Western-educated professionals who have returned to a radically transformed city.
One morning, in the eighth tower of Lanson Suites, Lina discovers that a treasured ivory bracelet has gone missing. This incident sets off a wave of unease that ripples throughout the Zhen household. Wei, a marketing strategist, bows under the guilt of not having engaged in nobler work. Meanwhile, Lina, lonely in her new life of leisure, assumes the modern moniker taitai -a housewife who does no housework at all.
She is haunted by the circumstances surrounding her arranged marriage to Wei and her lingering feelings for his brother, Qiang. Sunny, the family's housekeeper, is a keen but silent observer of these tensions. An unmarried woman trying to carve a place for herself in society, she understands the power of well-kept secrets. When Qiang reappears in Shanghai after decades on the run with a local gang, the family must finally come to terms with the past and its indelible mark on their futures.
From a silk-producing village in rural China, up the corporate ladder in suburban America, and back again to the post-Maoist nouveaux riches of modern Shanghai, What We Were Promised explores the question of what we owe to our country, our families, and ourselves.
Show moreSet in modern Shanghai, a debut by a Chinese-American writer about a prodigal son whose unexpected return forces his newly wealthy family to confront painful secrets and unfulfilled promises.
After years of chasing the American dream, the Zhen family has moved back to China. Settling into a luxurious serviced apartment in Shanghai, Wei, Lina, and their daughter, Karen, join an elite community of Chinese-born, Western-educated professionals who have returned to a radically transformed city.
One morning, in the eighth tower of Lanson Suites, Lina discovers that a treasured ivory bracelet has gone missing. This incident sets off a wave of unease that ripples throughout the Zhen household. Wei, a marketing strategist, bows under the guilt of not having engaged in nobler work. Meanwhile, Lina, lonely in her new life of leisure, assumes the modern moniker taitai -a housewife who does no housework at all.
She is haunted by the circumstances surrounding her arranged marriage to Wei and her lingering feelings for his brother, Qiang. Sunny, the family's housekeeper, is a keen but silent observer of these tensions. An unmarried woman trying to carve a place for herself in society, she understands the power of well-kept secrets. When Qiang reappears in Shanghai after decades on the run with a local gang, the family must finally come to terms with the past and its indelible mark on their futures.
From a silk-producing village in rural China, up the corporate ladder in suburban America, and back again to the post-Maoist nouveaux riches of modern Shanghai, What We Were Promised explores the question of what we owe to our country, our families, and ourselves.
Show moreLucy Tan grew up in New Jersey and has spent much of her adult life in New York and Shanghai. She received her B.A. from New York University and her M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was awarded the 2016 August Derleth Prize. Her fiction has been published in journals such as Asia Literary Review and Ploughshares, where she was winner of the 2015 Emerging Writer's Contest. What We Were Promised is her first novel.
"What We Were Promised is a big beautiful novel. Lucy Tan's
dazzling debut grapples with the persistence of the past, the
inevitability of the present, and the difficulty of balancing
individuality with community."--Hannah Pittard, author of Visible
Empire and Listen to Me
"What We Were Promised is like being let into the heads of the
characters in a C-drama... From its first page the novel promises a
mix of emotion and intellect, plot and cultural critique, and it
delivers. These characters are deeply understood and deeply felt,
and the conflicts they get themselves into will keep you up at
night turning pages. By the end of What We Were Promised you will
agree that the real promise belongs to its debut author. Put Lucy
Tan on your literary radar now."--Matthew Salesses, author of The
Hundred-Year Flood
"What We Were Promised explores the question of what we owe to our
country, our families, and ourselves." (--Five Spot Green
Living
"What We Were Promised glows through its intimate, skillful prose.
Tan's debut is a beautiful reckoning with the ever-changing
definition of "home" - what it means to have, lose and find family
again."--USA Today
""Charming debut novel. . . . Through a set of fascinating
characters, Tan delivers a compelling story that raises questions
about assimilation, family dynamics, and the personal
reverberations of globalization."--National Book Review
"a beautifully written, evocative and provocative
narrative."--All-About Romance
"addicting books to read if you loved Crazy Rich Asians"--Hello
Giggles
"an elegant debut novel"--Newark Star Ledger
"A beautifully rendered debut with vivid characters who will stay
with readers long after the last satisfying page."--Judith Claire
Mitchell, author of A Reunion of Ghosts
"A compelling story of class, culture, regret, and anxiety about
the road not taken."--Modern Mrs. Darcy
"A luminous family saga"--Entertainment Weekly
"A quietly brilliant book, and a truly singular
debut."--ArnaBontemps Hemenway, award-winning author of Elegyon
Kinderklavier
"A tightly crafted debut wrought with the measured voice of an
expert craftsperson, Lucy Tan's WHAT WE WERE PROMISED is an
exquisite exploration of class, family and self."--Bookreporter
"Against a contemporary global backdrop, made empathic with a
multigenerational family saga, embellished with timeless
servant/master (and mistress) class conflict, Tan's debut will be
entertaining - and enlightening - to savvy cosmopolitan readers
throughout the summer and beyond."--Smithsonian Asian Pacific
American Center
"As the narrative jumps across decades and continents, it throws
the rural villages and urban skylines, as well as the lives of the
locals and aloof expatriates, into sharp relief. . . . All the
while, Tan asks what it means to belong-to a person or a
place."--Time
"Dramatic and deeply moving, this would be perfect Oscar
material."--Crystal Hana Kim, Washington Post
"Fans of Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians series will especially
enjoy What We Were Promised, which takes place among a similar
social set."--Refinery 29
"Fans of Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians series will especially
enjoy What We Were Promised."--Refinery29
"For book clubs that love reading about complicated family dynamics
and transitional periods, this book will provide fodder for great
conversations--Bookish
"From fitting in culturally, family dynamics, and self-worth, the
story will resonate with anyone who is uncertain and fearful about
their future."--Women.com
"I read What We Were Promised in a state of enchantment,
immediately drawn into the longings, secrets and very human foibles
of its finely-drawn cast of characters. Both intimate and
panoramic, Lucy Tan's debut is a revealing consideration of modern
China as well as a thrilling discovery of the generations-long
secrets between two families. Compassionate and heartbreaking,
funny and wise, local and universal, What We Were Promised marks
the arrival of an inspiring new voice."--ChloeBenjamin, author of
The Anatomy of Dreams and The Immortalists
"If you love explorations of the American dream transplanted in
Shanghai, generational sagas, and the lives of the newly rich and
confused, read What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan."--Lillian Li,
author of Number One ChineseRestaurant
"In What We Were Promised, Tan skillfully brings to life the issues
of modern day China and Shanghai. It is an immigrant story but one
that also delves into the subject of going back to one's homeland.
Tan humanizes each and every one of her characters. There is also
depth to how the stories of past and present are interwoven. As a
reader I felt that I was in good hands."--Weike Wang, author of
Chemistry
"Intriguing debut novel. Set in Shanghai, made empathic with a
multigenerational family saga, embellished with timeless class
conflict, this story entertains and enlightens."--Christian Science
Monitor
"It has plenty of literary heft and timely social commentary, but
it's also a thoroughly enthralling and deeply moving
novel"--Isthmus
"Lucy Tan brings to vibrant life the self-made, newly cosmopolitan
Zhens, who have gone from the tea fields and silk factories of
small town China to the luxury high rises of Shanghai in one
generation. Abounding in insight and deftly told, What We Were
Promised is a story both sweeping and intimate, as this most modern
of families discovers they must confront their past in order to
find their future. "--Maggie Shipstead, author of Seating
Arrangements and Astonish Me
"Lucy Tan is an author to watch"--Amazon Book Review
"Readers may identify with one or more of the characters as they
deal with historic cultural norms and modern reality--Forsyth
Woman
"Status, family dynamic, and gender roles plague the characters and
they must ponder, what 'they owe to themselves, each other, and
their country."--Women.com
"Tan's novel will strike a chord with anyone who looks to the
future with uncertainty."--My Domaine
"Tan's talent as a storyteller clearly shines through her strong
plot lines and characterization; readers will want to know more
about each well-crafted player in the story . . . . A novel of
class, culture, and expectations; readers who enjoyed works like
Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians will likely find Tan's surprising
and down-to-earth tale an entertaining read."--Library Journal
"The magnificence and splendor of modern Shanghai come to life in
Lucy Tan's debut novel."--Palm Beach Post
"The ultimate message of What We Were Promised is one all young,
millennial readers can relate to."--Bustle
"This book boasts a very memorable cast of characters... A
compelling, sensitive and thoughtful debut that is sure to move
you."--Afoma Umesi
"Winner of Ploughshares' Emerging Writer award, Lucy Tan draws an
astute portrait of a staid family thrown into disarray in this
assured first novel. She does not explore the Tolstoyan adage of
unhappy families, but rather throws a stone into the still pool of
carefully balanced domesticity. With its measuring of expectation
against reality, What We Were Promised showcases Tan's sharp eye
for the intricacies of human relationships."--Shelf Awareness
"With its measuring of expectation against reality, What We Were
Promised establishes Tan as a new talent with a sharp eye for the
intricacies of human relationships."--Shelf Awareness
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize
Named one of the Best of Books of 2018 by The Washington Post,
Refinery 29, and Amazon
A Barnes and Noble Discover Pick
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