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Title details for Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang - Available

Joan Is Okay

A Novel

by Weike Wang
Catherine Ho
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A witty, moving, piercingly insightful new novel about a marvelously complicated woman who can’t be anyone but herself, from the award-winning author of Chemistry
LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • “A deeply felt portrait . . . With gimlet-eyed observation laced with darkly biting wit, Weike Wang masterfully probes the existential uncertainty of being other in America.”—Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, NPR, The Washington Post, Vox
Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the United States to secure the American dream for their children, Joan is intensely devoted to her work, happily solitary, successful. She does look up sometimes and wonder where her true roots lie: at the hospital, where her white coat makes her feel needed, or with her family, who try to shape her life by their own cultural and social expectations.
 
Once Joan and her brother, Fang, were established in their careers, her parents moved back to China, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in their homeland. But when Joan’s father suddenly dies and her mother returns to America to reconnect with her children, a series of events sends Joan spiraling out of her comfort zone just as her hospital, her city, and the world are forced to reckon with a health crisis more devastating than anyone could have imagined.
 
Deceptively spare yet quietly powerful, laced with sharp humor, Joan Is Okay touches on matters that feel deeply resonant: being Chinese-American right now; working in medicine at a high-stakes time; finding one’s voice within a dominant culture; being a woman in a male-dominated workplace; and staying independent within a tight-knit family. But above all, it’s a portrait of one remarkable woman so surprising that you can’t get her out of your head.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 18, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593412299
      • File size: 190259 KB
      • Duration: 06:36:22

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 29, 2021
      Wang’s profound latest (after Chemistry) portrays two generations of a grieving Asian American family. Joan, a 36-year-old self-possessed physician, works long hours at her Manhattan hospital’s ICU and lives alone in a sparsely decorated apartment despite the insistence of her well-to-do brother, Fang, that she move to Connecticut to be closer to him and his family. But when their father, who has lived in Shanghai with their mother ever since Joan went to college, dies after a stroke, Joan begins to feel unmoored. Their mother then returns to the U.S. after 18 years, only to be stranded in Connecticut due to the pandemic travel bans. Because of language barriers, her old age, and lack of a driver’s license, she depends on her children to get around and to communicate. Wang offers candid explorations of family dynamics (“berating is love, and here I was at thirty-six, still being loved,” Joan reflects after Fang shames her for not going with him and their mother on a fancy Colorado skiing trip), and Joan’s empathy for her ailing patients, as well as her disapproving brother and sister in law, are consistently refreshing. It adds up to a tender and enduring portrayal of the difficulties of forging one’s own path after spending a life between cultures. Agent: Joy Harris, Joy Harris Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Catherine Ho gives a superb performance of this #ownvoices audiobook by the award-winning author of CHEMISTRY. Ho perfectly inhabits Joan, a first-generation Chinese-American ICU physician who is grieving the loss of her father while struggling with the direction of her life. Ho's deliberate pace and nuanced intonation straddle the edges between intimacy and detachment. Joan is a wary but sharply observant character, and Ho mines the expanse of Joan's acuity and introspection to depict a complex woman with relatable career, relationship, and family challenges. Ho paints authentic portraits of Joan's mother; older brother, Fang; and his wife, Tami, as well as Joan's co-workers and neighbors. Ho's skillful approach pairs beautifully with Wang's penetrating writing to draw listeners into Joan's insightful journey toward self-realization. M.J. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2022

      Joan is a Chinese American doctor who is focused on her work in the ICU of a New York City hospital and has little in the way of a social life. Her brother Fang is a successful hedge fund manager who lives in posh Greenwich, CT, with his wife and three children. When their father dies unexpectedly, Joan requests only 48 hours' leave to attend his funeral in China. This triggers an HR intervention requiring Joan to take a six-week leave from the hospital. An overfriendly neighbor teaches Joan how to fill her down time, but these lessons cause Joan to flee to Greenwich. The close proximity of family precipitates a number of conversations that help Joan clarify what she wants. Wang (PEN/Hemingway--awarded for her debut novel Chemistry, and with a PhD in public health) offers a compelling story and gentle exploration of immigration, success, and lifestyle choices. Narrator Catherine Ho is just the right voice for Joan. She navigates the English and Chinese parts of the story with ease and voices the conflicting opportunities and choices each character faces with compassion and humor. VERDICT Highly recommended.--Joanna M. Burkhardt

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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